Australian company CSIRO informs on the development of a lead battery for hybrid vehicles (HEVs).
Expensive nickel-metal hydride batteries are usually used for hybrid cars. Traditional lead batteries are not used in hybrid power systems because of their low storage capacity, heavy weight and insufficient cycling capacity.
This development by Australian researchers is a result of the work of the Advanced Lead-Acid Battery Consortium and called UltraBattery. Its capacity is 50% higher compared to traditional car batteries, and is 70% cheaper then NiMH batteries. The result was achieved by combining the features of a conventional battery and a super-capacitor. As for the cycling capacity, the UltraBattery reached about 170,000 km which is comparative to the life cycle of NiMH batteries.
Source: http://auto.lenta.ru/news/2008/
