31 October 2019 - Dr Alistair Davidson

Power to the cities

Power to the cities

As mega cities continue to grow across the globe, providing safe and reliable power for their growing populations remains a global priority.

As the UN marks World Cities Day, innovation in battery design and capability will be key to the growth of cities and maintaining the growing demands of complex interconnected energy and communication systems.

Increasingly cities will expect low carbon transport, better telecommunications, and renewably-sourced energy backed by batteries. Which is why our technology innovation roadmap is helping redefine the lead battery landscape and create the next generation of battery energy storage.

More than half of the planet’s population live in cities, with the number expected to double in the next 30 years. The role of advanced batteries will play a critical role in delivering greater electrification and decarbonisation.

Better batteries mean better performance in all vehicles, from start-stop engines which have already helped reduce harmful emissions, to hybrids, and now electric vehicles, all vital to improving the environment in cities across the world. Nearly all electric vehicles -  5.1 million electric vehicles were on the roads last year – use specialist lead batteries as back up for safety and support for in-vehicle battery management systems.

Improving the performance of batteries will usher in affordable and clean energy for cities and communities across the global urban landscape.

Our innovation roadmap aims to improve cycle life of lead batteries by 5 times by 2022 to 5,000 cycles, to meet the technical requirements of future energy storage applications.

And the role out of super-fast mobile telecommunications infrastructure through 5G connectivity will rely on the back-up of reliable advanced lead batteries to keep people connected whatever the conditions.

By Dr Alistair Davidson

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