Cabot Launches Performance Additive for Advanced Lead-Acid Batteries
PBX51™ performance additive dramatically improves lifetime and performance in lead-acid batteries for micro-hybrid vehicles
In 2011, automakers sold an estimated 5 million micro-hybrids worldwide. By 2017, this number is expected to grow to 39 million vehicles, representing a market of
"With the launch of the new PBX51 product, Cabot is helping to accelerate micro-hybrid technology by enabling car battery manufacturers to significantly improve battery performance while lowering costs," said
PBX51 performance additive dramatically improves lead-acid battery performance for micro-hybrids
Cabot's new PBX51 performance additive is designed to help micro-hybrid manufacturers solve a major barrier to mass market adoption, which is to enable longer lasting, smaller battery performance at a lower cost.
Micro-hybrids, which commonly add "start-stop" technologies to conventional gasoline engines, are a fast-growing class of energy-efficient vehicles. Micro-hybrids create a 5 to 15 percent fuel savings advantage over conventional vehicles by shutting down the engine during temporary stops, such as at a traffic light. While the engine is off, the vehicle's other systems are kept running through the battery, which is recharged by a combination of energy captured during braking and from the engine.
"The challenge of the start-stop battery market, which soon will be half the global automotive battery market, has been to develop cost-effective batteries that can withstand repeated start-stop functions," said
A conventional car battery may see only a few charge-discharge cycles a day, whereas a start-stop battery must withstand dozens. To compensate, micro-hybrid manufacturers typically double the size of the battery and use the more robust valve regulated lead-acid (VRLA) battery design. This approach solves the cycling issue, but adds more weight, cost and space requirements to the vehicle, all of which are detrimental to creating smaller, fuel-efficient cars.
Cabot's PBX51 performance additive is designed to enable new automobile batteries to last as long under start-stop conditions as conventional car batteries, without today's several-fold increase in cost and size. In addition, when added to VRLA batteries for micro-hybrids, the PBX51 performance additive has been shown to dramatically improve battery lifetime and the ability to recharge using braking energy. It also prolongs battery life by reducing negative plate sulfation - the major cause of short battery lifetimes in micro-hybrids.
To learn more, visit our website at http://www.cabot-corp.com/advanced-batteries or contact us at Battery.materials@cabotcorp.com. Cabot will be exhibiting at Battery Japan in
ABOUT CABOT BATTERY MATERIALS
PBX products are part of a new Cabot family of performance additives for advanced batteries designed specifically to solve customer problems at the fundamental particle materials level. Through the application of Cabot's deep portfolio of carbon materials and particle technologies, PBX additives can be modified to perform one or more critical functions to promote dramatic performance and durability improvements in lead-acid batteries.
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