The lead battery industry has dominated the U.S. landscape for over 100 years, but new challenges, technological shifts and increased competition demand attention. General George S. Patton once said, “A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week.” Strategic opportunities are often lost to indecision.

Manufacturing leaders have the reliable market intelligence necessary to plan for the future of energy storage by targeting three key areas.

Focus on Investments and Innovation

The first step is to prioritize investments and innovation. There are still many opportunities to improve lead battery technology. The global lead battery market is projected to grow at a 4.6% CAGR to 2030. The Department of Energy recognizes that investments and innovations in lead battery technology are necessary to unlock the potential for long-duration energy storage applications. In fact, analysis shows that lead batteries have the best chance of reaching the 2030-35 energy goals.

At the same time, the industry must be realistic about where lead batteries fit and where they don’t. The transition to clean energy will require a wide range of battery chemistries to meet the evolving energy storage needs of the U.S.  Instead of competing, the goal should be identifying how the various battery technologies can work together.

The safety and reliability of lead batteries create an opportunity to challenge lithium’s dominance. Advanced lead battery energy storage systems (BESS) work well for smaller stationary applications like microgrids and EV charging stations. 

Lithium energy storage systems are appropriate for short to medium durations, from a few minutes to four hours of operating time. To scale up energy storage capacity, additional cells are added to the battery system, which then increases the footprint. The attempt to add longer duration results in higher costs due to oversized systems and additional safety measures to meet emergency access requirements should there be a thermal event.

Vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFB) are the most promising technology for long-duration energy storage, like commercial solar installations. VRFB systems can function for more than two decades without the electrolyte losing capacity, the electrolyte is infinitely recyclable, and there is an emerging domestic supply chain similar to the circular economy of the lead battery industry. VRFB is coming of age as the adoption of the technology ramps up, which is driving economies for the component supply chain and manufacturing.

Own the Circular Economy

The circular economy of the lead battery industry should be the gold standard for all battery chemistries. Lead batteries have a nearly 100 percent recycling rate in the U.S., the highest of any consumer product. A new lead battery is typically comprised of 80 percent recycled material.

As lithium battery technology is more widely adopted, the need for lithium battery recycling becomes a serious concern. While lithium is thought to be a more sustainable battery chemistry than lead, the recycling rate for lithium batteries is less than five percent. Department of Energy (DOE) research indicates that recycled material could potentially provide one-third of the United States cathode material needed for lithium batteries by 2030. That recycling will provide the critical materials needed to build U.S.-based lithium battery manufacturing.

Today, lead battery recyclers and materials recovery facilities are already seeing lithium batteries in their streams. There is an opportunity to utilize the lead industry’s established service and distribution network to collect and direct lithium batteries to an appropriate recycling stream.

Use Competitive Advantages

Trade associations such as Battery Council International (BCI) provide avenues for research, advocacy and collaboration among member companies. BCI can drive standards in the growing stationary storage market, especially for lead and flow battery energy storage systems (BESS). The concept of BCI battery sizes could be applied to the size, fit and specifications of BESS solutions, paving the way for standardization and greater adoption of non-lithium chemistries.

Advocacy efforts have raised awareness of the need for additional investments. BCI was recently awarded $5 million from the DOE to establish the Consortium for Lead Battery Leadership in Long Duration Energy Storage. The Consortium will bring together BCI, the Consortium for Battery Innovation, eight U.S. lead battery manufacturers and three national laboratories to conduct pre-competitive research aimed at improving lead battery performance. The goal is to develop lead batteries capable of 10+ hours of storage with a pathway to $0.05/kWh Levelized Cost of Storage by 2030.

Another $5 million award was granted to clean technology expert firm CleanTech Strategies (CTS). CTS will partner with the Flow Battery Industry Group- a program of BCI – to collaborate with U.S. research institutions to plan, manage, and report on applied research and development to accelerate the maturation of flow battery technologies into cost-effective and reliable long-duration energy storage.

The lead battery industry has a significant impact on the U.S. economy. The industry generates $8.1 trillion in economic output and almost 48 million U.S. jobs are reliant on the lead battery industry.  Lead batteries are vital to energy security, energy resilience and national security, and we need to continue to share this message.

With over 200 GWh annual manufacturing capacity across a strong and profitable domestic footprint, the domestic lead battery is ready to scale to meet the increasing demand for energy storage solutions. Now is the time to unlock the untapped potential in lead battery technology with research, investments and the adoption of new applications.