Abstract
This chapter focuses on the perspective of battery manufacturers on the use of valve-regulated lead–acid (VRLA) batteries in automotive applications. VRLA batteries are primarily used only in motorcycles, some military applications, and, recently, in niche-markets— such as luxury cars, taxis, and agricultural vehicles. VRLA batteries are either of the absorptive glass-mat (AGM) type—with a separator made from a highly porous glass-fibre mat filling the whole space between the two electrodes and immobilizing the electrolyte—or of the gel type with a more-or-less standard separator but having the electrolyte immobilized in a silica-gel matrix. The resistance of gel batteries is usually significantly higher than the resistance of those with free electrolyte. Therefore, in automotive applications, which usually demand a high-power capability at a high voltage level and at low temperatures, AGM-type VRLA batteries are preferred. Gel-type automotive batteries are used only in niche applications where the special properties of the gel concept are beneficial and neither high-power performance nor high voltage during cranking is essential. VRLA batteries offer several advantages over antimony-free flooded batteries, such as freedom from maintenance, high charge-acceptance, safety against hydrogen ignition, and corrosion resistance.
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