Valve-regulated lead-acid batteries

Valve-regulated lead-acid (VRLA) batteries with gelled electrolyte appeared as a niche market during the 1950s. During the 1970s, when glass-fiber felts became available as a further method to immobilize the electrolyte, the market for VRLA batteries expanded rapidly. The immobilized electrolyte offers a number of obvious advantages including the internal oxygen cycle which accommodates the overcharging current without chemical change within the cell. It also suppresses acid stratification and thus opens new fields of application. VRLA batteries, however, cannot be made completely sealed, but require a valve for gas escape, since hydrogen evolution and grid corrosion are unavoidable secondary reactions. These reactions result in water loss, and also must be balanced in order to ensure proper charging of both electrodes. Both secondary reactions have significant activation energies, and can reduce the service life of VRLA batteries, operated at elevated temperature. This effect can be aggravated by the comparatively high heat generation caused by the internal oxygen cycle during overcharging. Temperature control of VRLA batteries, therefore, is important in many applications.