2023 Innovation Award Submissions

Thank you to all the companies who submitted for the 2023 Innovation Award.

ACE Green Recycling logo

Ace Green Recycling

ACE Green Recycling is a US-based green recycling technology company with global operations. Employing proprietary, world-class technology, ACE’s recycling process is Scope 1 emissions-free and fully electrified, recovering over 99% of battery materials from lead batteries recycling. Our groundbreaking approach is not only highly efficient, but also greener and safer than traditional methods, while also delivering superior cost economics. Already deployed at commercial scale, ACE’s green recycling technology aims to assist the battery industry in making electrification sustainable to help enable the global energy transition.

Daramic

Daramic® HiCharge™ helps to extend battery life in motive power and other deep cycle applications with increasing operations in partial-state-of-charge. Through a special waterloss feature and patented profile, HiCharge retards water loss, grid corrosion and helps prevent acid stratification, prolonging battery life.

Gopher Resource logo

Gopher Resource, Winner

The SCRUM process uses furnace fuming technology to separate the tin and lead into a concentrated fume form with very high selectivity and efficiency, leaving behind a “cleaned” bulk iron sodium-silicate “SCRUM Slag.”

Gopher Resource’s innovative process separates 99% of useful metals from lead blast furnace slags, producing LME-grade tin and lead bullion that can be refined and used in new batteries. The remaining SCRUM Slag is an environmentally-friendly byproduct that can be repurposed and shows promising potential for commercialization. The ability to recover these metals from lead battery recycling slag in a safe, economically feasible way is an industry first.

STC logo

STC S.r.l.

The U4Lead process by STC, protected by National and International (PCT) patent, is based on the use of UREA as chemical for the desulphurization of paste and electrolyte neutralization. Thanks to the great R&D team, the company discovered that it was possible to implement an even more efficient desulphurization process, able to overcome the above-mentioned limitations while ensuring at the same time all the advantages of the most recent desulphurization process.

Water Gremlin

Water Gremlin Co.

As a trial, Water Gremlin converted one of its coating machines to the new ultraviolet (UV) light cured coating process. To date approximately 10% of their coating capacity has been converted to a UV-curable coating, known as Gremlin Green. By doing so, it has impressively been able to reduce solvent usage by nearly 20%. Water Gremlin intends to continue to implement UV cure technology to eventually end all usage of organic solvents for coating in their facility. Water Gremlin’s commitment is to reduce solvent usage by more than 50% by the end of 2023 and by more than 80% in 2024 and beyond.

Past Innovation Award Submissions

Advanced Battery Concepts, Winner

ABC Home Emergency Energy Storage system build on a foundation of GreenSeal bipolar lead acid battery technology supported by a portfolio of 50+ patents and trade secrets. System solution to the residential energy stability issues plaguing aging grid infrastructure and over burdened generation sources. Additionally coupling with solar installations for a true microgrid solution.

Abertax Technologies

The new GEL CIRCULATION PROCESS does away with standard filling processes for GEL Batteries. it needs less investment in machinery, reduced production time & labour cost. It is an Environmental friendly process -no acid wastage & much better quality/performance of such manufactured batteries. From results, it seems that this system will be adopted as the standard by major Gel battery manufacturers.

Daramic

Daramic HD Plus reinvents the battery separator with an innovative design that increases life in golf cart and other deep cycle batteries. This state-of-the-art solution fights against antimony poisoning, helping improve battery performance where it matters most.

Hollingsworth & Vose

HV has recently developed PowerFill AGM to solve these challenges by enhancing the surface of the separator to create open channels. With the open channels on the PowerFill AGM separator, the gaseous species in the pocket can escape more easily from the battery during the acid filling process, thereby allowing acid to flow quickly and evenly into the center of the plates/AGM. The PowerFillTM patented technology can be applied to various types of AGM, and the resultant separators still retain the same strength and compression retention behaviour of the base AGM.

UFF

With the Blewin development, I made the necessary machine equipment suitable for large-scale use. The batteries with grids produced by this have increased the specific power of about 60 Wh / kg to 80 Wh / kg and have shown other technical advantages. Another important advantage of the Blewin system is that it minimizes pollution from lead processing.

Vivet Technology

Repeating Layer Manufacturing. by exploiting a mathematical characteristic in the battery design, we designed a manufacturing process that introduces new levels of manufacturing capabilities that have not been possible for the last 120 years of manufacturing. the new method be able to build a manufacturing system capable of lower time to market, Lower Cost, over 95% System availability.

Abertax Technologies Limited

Automated data collection from battery monitoring systems has become a necessity in today’s world. To complement our E2BMS product line the R&D team has created a novel modular software system that can adapt to the various network requirements of the battery industry, including those who monitor equipment at third party premises, improving sustainability and longevity of lead acid batteries.

Aqua Metal

Aqua Metals has invented a cleaner and more cost-efficient lead recycling technology, AquaRefining™, which utilizes a room temperature, closed-loop, waterbased process combined with non-toxic, biodegradable organic proprietary electrolyte to produce a lead purity of no less than 99.996%. Aqua Metals is expanding its proven, patented technology to lithium-ion.

CAM

The CAM Method, a system based on 50 years of research and development is the help you’re looking for. The CAM Method is a series of operating strategies that facilitate battery producers, allowing them to manufacture high quality, high performance industrial and SLI battery plates, while reducing energy costs.

Customized Energy Solutions

The product is a fast charger for Lead Acid battery powered electric vehicles. Currently, it is meant for fast charging batteries of Electric Rickshaws. It can also be modified for quick charging of VRLA batteries in Electric Scooters and bikes as well as heavy duty batteries in material handling equipment like Electric Forklift trucks, Platform Trucks, Tow Trucks as well as Golf carts.

Green Lead

Logical reforms in the recycling of LA batteries in order to:

  • for the environment
  • improving the energy efficiency of the lead „circular process”
  • simplification lead logistics

A possible way to do this would be solved by the Green Lead Project with the extra benefit that lead grids that can be manufactured in one step as a final product can be used in better batteries.

Hammond, Winner

Hammond Performance Additives’ patent-pending innovation, lead silicate enables batteries to achieve the benefits of reduced acid stratification without any of the downsides inherent to traditional solutions. This additive integrates with the lead oxide plate structure significantly increasing surface area. These “micro-sponges” trap the acid electrolyte and slow its release during charging. By reducing the rate of electrolyte outflow, the acid density gradient is minimized.

Mojtaba Hosseini

Introduction to a new recycling system that allows you recover twice the amount of lead from used batteries and become number one in production and recycling lead acid batteries. I have made a compound that allow extraction of total lead in used batteries, lead oxide, lead ore/concentrate, and all other lead compunds. You can extract of the existing lead up to the last atom from the first smelting process of any lead product, compound, or concentrate. When lead acid batteries or other lead compounds are mixed with my compound for smelting, you will have no for mating of heavy lead slag or powder in bag filters. My compound turns complete lead content accessible.

Nanoramic Laboratories

Neocarbonix™ – an electrode technology platform that effectively eliminates polymer binders from the electrode active layer. Results have been demonstrated for both LIB cathodes and EDLC electrodes. Nanoramic’s Neocarbonix electrodes have significantly lower ESR, better C-rate capabilities, greater active material thickness for improved energy density, while also retaining or improving capacity.

PESO (Port Energy Systems Optomisation)

The PESO system demonstrates how lead-acid battery technology in a new configuration with lithium-ion technology and an intelligent control system contributes to the cost-effective and environmentally sound energy storage systems of a port. PESO demonstrates how this technology can be used in other ports to improve air quality, reduce carbon emissions and facilitate port electrification.

1-800-Battery

Battery Focused E-Commerce/SaaS Platform

1-800-Battery is the first e-commerce marketplace/Saas Platform that focuses on the unique problems of retailing Lead Acid Batteries on the Internet. We’re the pioneer of a disruptive business model: Connecting geolocated consumers with independent retail brick and mortar and mobile service providers. We call this “disconnected omnichannel”. We turn Where to Buy into Buy Now.

Abertax Technologies Limited

Battery Electrolyte Level Sensor Probe

Abertax currently has a very successful electrolyte level sensor in its product line, which presently carries a lead probe. The R&D team has now come up with a new development doing away with lead & replacing it with composite carbon fibre. This has been done in the best interest of Health and Safety of anyone handling the product plus a perspective towards a greener environment and sustainability.

ArcActive, Winner

AACarbon

ArcActive has re-engineered the negative electrode of the Lead Battery to remove the Lead Grid and replace it with a non-woven Carbon Fibre Fabric (AACarbonTM). The benefit of this innovation is that it solves the number one technical challenge facing the industry (as identified by the CBI): achieving high and sustained Dynamic Charge Acceptance while delivering very low Water Consumption.

Chittaranjan Ghosh

Novel Electrodes and Battery Charging Method

A novel pair of lead – acid battery electrodes, which are bagged in terelyne cloth bag without having used any pasting to avoid paste mixer, pasting machine and oven etc. By increasing active material ratio to structural material, higher energy density is achieved.

A battery charging method is provided which includes a combination of CC and CV mode to reduce the emission of harmful gases, conserve electrical energy and extend the life of flooded type lead acid batteries during Jar formation.

CMWTEC Technologie GmbH

Advanced High Rate Discharge Test Machine

Advanced High Rate Discharge (HRD) test machine with integrated impedance & DC internal Resistance measurement for automotive lead-acid batteries. Our new feature presents a new approach of an End-of Line test machine (EOL) in terms of its assembly, programming flexibility and the ability to accurately discriminate between acceptable and unacceptable batteries.

Daramic

Carbon Coated Separator

Daramic has invested heavily in research to understand how the separator may influence achieving CBI battery targets in partial state of charge cycle life, dynamic charge acceptance, water loss and corrosion. This has led to the development of a separator that increases acid to the negative, prevents active material swelling, and adds carbon that intimately contacts the negative plate.

Flow-Rite Controls

Sensor Suite

The Flow-Rite sensor suite measures, collects, and tracks essential characteristics of a deep cycle battery pack. These sensors allow you to manage the care for your deep cycle batteries either wirelessly or through a vehicle’s on-board computer. This allows you to monitor, track, and control your fleet 24/7.

Mega Amps International

EQLYTE

Introducing EQLYTE (EE-KEW-LITE), an effective optimisation of electrochemical hydrodynamics within flooded Lead Acid cells yielding increased discharge capacity and active material utilization. Electrolyte optimization is conducive to 25% – 35% more discharge capacity and improves the PbSO4 solubility facilitating a more efficient charge and discharge process with less raw material usage.

Power Sonic

The e-co2tainer

The e-co2tainer (pronounced Ecotainer) is a mobile unit where drivers can charge their electric cars at project locations. The required electricity is generated with solar panels and wind turbines which are on top of the unit and a generator placed inside the unit that works exclusively on Biofuel. A completely independent off grid solution.

PRO Charging Systems

Battery Optimization System (B.O.S.)

The Battery Optimization System (B.O.S.) is an active balancer for multiple batteries in a series configuration. The B.O.S. will keep the batteries balanced during charge, discharge, and rest. This allows for greater run times as well as prolonging battery life by means of energy shuttling which can be monitored via wireless communication to a phone or tablet with the free ProView Link app.

TBS Engineering

Automatic Plate Loader

Automation equipment to load positive and negative plates into a stacker without human intervention. The equipment scans a pallet of plates to determine the position of the stacks, lifts the stack and loads the plates into a plate shuffler designed to stop plates from sticking together. The shuffler then loads the plates into the feeders of the stacker. Plate loading up to 360 per/min is possible.

Very

IoT Inventory Management System

Interstate Batteries teamed up with Very to design and build an IoT-powered inventory management system to track the location of their batteries in retail stores and mechanic shops across the country. With this new system, drivers can use much smaller, more fuel efficient trucks and drive shorter routes because of the more efficient inventory management the solution enables.

The Wirtz Group of Companies

The RTR “Ready to Run” used lead acid battery breaking and separation system is a complete, fully assembled, piped, and electrically integrated, skidded breaking and separation system which can be shipped worldwide, installed and started up in less than a day, does not require special foundations, and can be ran by a single operator.

Please click on the company logos to view a short video about their Sally Breidegam Miksiewicz Innovation Award submission. You may also view the full playlist of videos here. Thank you to all the companies who submitted.

Battery Rescue

The Battery Transport and Storage Container

Battery collection service to remote mine sites located in Western Australia. For our customers, such as BHP, the BTS Containers provided an environmentally superior and safer method, than wood pallets, for storing and transporting their used batteries. The use of battery powered 4G IoT technology has enabled us to overcome many of the transport challenges to large mine sites in remote areas.

Abertax Technologies

Wireless Battery Monitoring System – Charger Communication System

This new innovation patented by Abertax in cooperation with Industrie Elektronik Brilon (IEB). involves the development of wireless data transmission through Abertax e2 BMS. Once a battery is connected to the charger, it is identified wireless and transfers all its relevant battery data to the charger which in turn adjusts its charging regime according to the particular battery conditions.

Customized Energy Solutions

Lead Battery Operation & Maintenance Manual for Solar PV Plants

When lead acid battery banks at most Indian solar PV microgrids were observed to supply either less than half of their capacity or failing after a few minutes of discharge within just few months of operation, an O&M intervention in the form of a lead acid battery manual was envisaged, which helped increase solar plant output to 44 percent within just one month of operation.

Daramic

Daramic Shuttle Table by Huff Technologies

A key to understanding how the battery functions, including its failure modes, is to mimic real world scenarios during testing. Daramic has developed a proprietary motion testing method along with innovative new machinery. The Daramic Shuttle Table creates a battery testing paradigm shift that simulates real world battery use case scenarios.

Microporous

Microporous Charge Acceptance Booster Mat

The demand for EFB continues to grow with increased use of start-stop technology. High charge acceptance is a key requirement for EFB and motive power where opportunity charging is a core requirement. This invention is a high charge acceptance enhancing separator component with a unique formulation of high surface area carbon and other additives for fast charging capability in a battery.

Narada

Narada Frequency Regulation Energy Storage PCR Project

Narada frequency regulation energy storage PCR project was partnered with energy storage operator, Upside Group. The project was built to participate frequency regulation for the German power grid. The project location is Langenreichenbach. The construction capacity of of Narada’s frequency regulation energy storage PCR project is 75MW. The installed capacity of the first phase project is 16.4MW, and the peak energy storage capacity can reach 25MWh. This project consists of 18 containers, and the battery consists of 10584 units 1200 Ah lead-carbon valve regulated cell. It is powered by nine inverters, each of which can provide 1.8 MVA.

The battery is operated at partial state-of-charge so that it can accept and deliver charge all the time. It can supply more than one month of electricity supply to 80 households on each charge. This project has passed the certificate and review of the German power grid, and has participated in the EU power grid frequency auxiliary service officially.

Philadelphia Scientific

iBOS Charger-Splitter

iBOS Charger Splitter will half the number of chargers you need in your battery room. This enables forklift operators to sequentially charge two batteries with one charger. Creating a huge savings for your battery room!

Power-Sonic

DRM System

The Power Sonic Demand Response Module (DRM) is a fully integrated and unique energy storage solution for medium and high voltage grid connection. The system offers faster response times to variations in demand and supply, helping maintain grid stability and ensuring reliable, high-quality energy supply response through a range of application. Perfect for peak shaving, and frequency regulation.

RSR Technologies Inc., Winner

SUPERSOFT-HYCYLE

An active R&D initiative in the secondary lead industry has produced a new alloy, SUPERSOFT-HYCYCLE, enabling lead batteries to function at 2x current standards. Use of the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory has helped verify this improvement. The alloy improves cycle life, dynamic charge acceptance and capacity.

Terrapure Environmental

LI Detector

Terrapure has developed a technology to detect and remove lithium-ion batteries—a significant equipment and safety risk—from the lead recycling stream. Called the Li-ion detector or LI Detector™, it uses high-frequency radio waves to detect lithium-ion batteries by scanning for their unique charging and protection circuitry. If detected, they can be easily removed by hand or automatically.

VOLTiFiC

Battery Sizing Software

The first universal battery sizing software capable of sizing critical applications across multiple vendors, technologies, and product lines. No more guessing battery capacity requirements. An unbiased, scientific approach to sizing and comparing battery solutions. You can also use it as sizing validation. Find the correct and best optimized battery solution in minutes, simply visit VOLTiFiC.COM.

Please click on the company logos to view a short video about their Sally Breidegam Miksiewicz Innovation Award submission. You may also view our playlist of all 2018 submissions. Thank you to all the companies who submitted.

Abertax Technologies

One Valve Lid

An Innovation patented by Abertax solving a weakness of VRLA batteries during the charging process. It provides equal pressure in all cells of a battery preventing early failure caused by unequal loss of electrolyte and differences in charging and discharging voltages per cell. Moreover the new lid design can control the charging regime guaranteeing a perfect recharge without any cell gassing.

Daramic

Carbon Coated Separator Technology

Analysis of carbon’s use in improving dynamic charge acceptance coupled with a patented application process led to the invention of Carbon Coated Separator Technology. The solution reduces sulfation crystal growth – which means more active surface area on the plates for improved conductance of the electrode. We have created a separator that will increase the amount and speed of electrification.

GNB Industrial Power

Tensor x Gel

GNB Industrial Power (headquarter in Milton, Georgia), one of the market leaders in battery manufacturing and well known for reliable flooded and gel lead traction batteries for hard industrial use developed the next generation of lead batteries: TENSOR the unique high performance battery and TENSOR xGEL the innovative maintenance-free battery.

Gridential Energy, Inc., Winner

Gridtential’s Silicon Joule® Technology

Gridtential Energy’s breakthrough Silicon Joule® battery architecture combines the traditional benefits of lead-acid batteries – low cost, recyclability, and safety – with a novel bipolar battery architecture. As demand in high-power applications increases across industries, Gridtential’s technology delivers the high dynamic charge acceptance (DCA) required to meet these evolving performance needs.

Highwater Innovations

Go Battery

The GO Battery is a Geometrically Optimized low aspect ratio, spiral-wound VRLA battery for high power. Results show that these improvements result in a 2-9X increase in specific power over available VRLA batteries. The GO Battery challenges the VRLA status quo. In the hands of the right battery manufacturing partner, the patented GO Battery design may prove to be the bane of Li-ion.

Terrapure Environmental

LI Detector

Terrapure has developed a technology to detect and remove lithium-ion batteries—a significant equipment and safety risk—from the lead recycling stream. Called the Li-ion detector or LI Detector™, it uses high-frequency radio waves to detect lithium-ion batteries by scanning for their unique charging and protection circuitry. If detected, they can be easily removed by hand or automatically.

UK Power Tech

Connector Design

UK Powertech has designed a new connector system, comprising of a new style connector with better materials, which is able to be fitted and also removed with minimum time and effort, combined with better connector maintenance and operating procedures. Working with customers and conducting in house testing, UK Powertech have combined an easy push fit, more corrosion resistant connector design with working practices which will minimize the build-up of a high resistance layer on the connector head.

UNISEG Products

Battery Transport and Storage

UNISEG Products has designed and developed the Battery Transport & Storage (BTS) Container as a safer, more environmentally sustainable and efficient method to store and transport used lead acid batteries destined for recycling. The BTS Container addresses many of the short comings of the widely used wooden pallet.

Winner of the 2017 Sally Breidegam Miksiewicz Innovation Award

Congratulations to NorthStar Battery, who were awarded the 2017 Sally Briedegam Miksiewicz Innovation Award for its Advanced Connected Energy mobile app . Thank you to everyone who submitted.

Please click on the company logos to view a short video about their Sally Breidegam Miksiewicz Innovation Award submission.

Advanced Battery Concepts

Bipolar Lead Acid Battery

Aqua Metals

AquaRefining for Lead Recycling

Daramic

Daramic® EFS™ and Daramic® RipTide™

Gridential Energy, Inc.

Gridtential’s Silicon Joule® Technology

Hammond Group, Inc

Lead Acid Battery Lab E=(LAB)2

NorthStar Battery Company, Winner

NorthStar ACE™

Remy Battery Co., Inc.

FreshStart Packaging

Winner of the 2016 Sally Breidegam Miksiewicz Innovation Award

Congratulations to Hammond Group, Inc, who were awarded the inaugural Sally Briedegam Miksiewicz Innovation Award for its advances in lead (PbA) battery chemistry. Thank you to everyone who submitted.

Honorable Mentions

Please click on the company logos to view a short video about their Sally Breidegam Miksiewicz Innovation Award submission.

Abertax Technologies

GEL Battery Production

Advanced Battery Concepts

GreenSeal Technology

Advanced Lead Acid Battery Consortium

Carbon in Negative Plates of VRLA Batteries

Aqua Metals

AquaRefining for Lead Recycling

Black Diamond Structures

Molecular Rebar Discrete Carbon Nanotubes

Club Assist U.S. LLC.

Safe2Start DC-DC Battery Charger

Daramic

DuraLife

Digatron Power Electronics GmbH

Digatron RE Series

Engineering Office Dr. Nitsche

Built to Order Manufacturing: VACForm and ConCure

Flow-Rite Controls

Battery Steward App and Web Portal

Glatfelter

Dynagrid NG-28 Synthetic Fibrous Web

Gridential Energy, Inc.

Gridtential Silicon Joule Technology

Hammond Group, Inc, Winner

K2 Expanders and Lead Acid Battery Lab (LAB)2

Highwater Innovations

Geometrically Optimized (GO) Battery

MAC Engineering & EneSys Inc.

Eliminating Paste Particles and Reducing Lead in Air

NorthStar Battery Company

The Blue Battery

Tulip Molded Plastics Corporation

Acid Ring Design to Eliminate Auxiliary Coatings

NorthStar Battery Company

Modular 8D Battery

John Howes

The Energy Storage Grand Challenge report….reflects growing recognition from DOE and others that lead batteries are among important energy storage technologies that require investment to secure America’s global leadership on technological innovation and a green economy infrastructure.

John Howes, Principal, Redland Energy Group