New-generation road vehicles

THE NEXT GREAT CHALLENGE FOR VALVE-REGULATED LEAD-ACID BATTERIES HIGH-RATE PARTIAL-STATE-OF-CHARGE DUTY IN NEW-GENERATION ROAD VEHICLES... 

It remains to be seen whether the benefits that can be gleaned from these design adjustments, when employed together, will prove to be sufficient to provide a satisfactory life for VRLA batteries in new-generation road vehicles. If this is indeed achieved, then the rewards, particularly in terms of reduced battery costs for such vehicles, will be enormous. 

Much of the recent advancement of VRLA technology has been achieved through a co-operative research effort under the auspices of the Advanced Lead-Acid Battery Consortium (ALABQ. The main effort has been directed towards the development of VRLA battery systems for new-generation road transportation — electric and hybrid electric vehicles — that will reduce fuel consumption and lower emissions. The progress gained in this endeavour will ultimately also benefit the enormously important markets in telecommunications and remote-area power supplies. 

More recently, new applications of catalytic combustion have been explored. Particularly the use in small-scale gas turbines to be used in mobile applications, such as rail locomotives, road vehicles and ships is anticipated. In addition, an increased use of small gas turbines for industrial applications such as offshore installations, pipeline compressors and power generation is expected. 

The new cars on the road in the future are likely to be a mix of vehicles including those with electric/ hybrid drive. This would include battery EVs, hybrids with direct-injection diesels, turbo generators and fuel cells. 

Predictions by several fuel cell organisations for incomplete systems are not in unison, but all see economic improvements coming from mass production, notably ITM. That will be very necessary to meet the intense competition as improved vehicles with new engine schemes enter the market. The industry needs complete fuel cells to achieve competitive performance and any kind of mature economics. The difficulty of the situation is highlighted by the fuel cell bus which saves local pollution on the road, but generates at the power plant stack more pollution... 

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