The automotive car battery has seen many drastic changes and continuous improvements. This evolution was driven by a need for improved performance, longer ranges, fast charging and increased energy efficiency. Let’s go through the car battery evolution in detail.
Ancient Origins and History of Car Battery
According to some scientists’ beliefs, ancient Parthians used a battery-like device somewhere in 200 BC. As per history, in the 1930s, workers used 12cm long jars of clay while digging railway lines. Upon research and detailed inspection, those jars resemble batteries. This was the first phase of the car battery evolution.
These devices had an iron rod which was the positive terminal and a copper cylinder which was the negative terminal along with a vinegar-like solution that was used as the electrolyte to make a chemical reaction necessary for battery operation. That said, not everyone believes in this history of car batteries whereby they originated from clay pots.
However, modern replicas of the same pots of jars showed them to have the ability to generate 0.8V to 2.0V each. Therefore, the history and evolution of car batteries may have started approximately over 2000 years ago.
The First Mass Production Battery
The major evolution of car battery began with Alessandro Volta who made various discoveries in the 1800s pertaining to battery development. He first discovered that some liquids can generate a continuous flow of electrical power when used as a conductor.
Next, he found out that various metals obtain and release electrons at different rates (voltage potential). Finally, Volta discovered that this voltage could be increased by stacking cells on top of one another.
These and other important discoveries helped in the further invention of batteries. This culminated in the design of car batteries.
The first mass-production battery was designed by William Cruickshank in 1802. He added copper plates and zinc into a wooden box that was sealed before absorbing them in an electrolyte of saline or brine.
This battery and other batteries saw an evolution over the subsequent years, but they all had one problem – they were all single-use batteries that were not capable of being recharged.
The First Lead Acid Battery
Moving forward, French physicist Gaston Planté solved the single-charge battery issue in 1859 by introducing the first lead-acid battery. As the evolution of car battery has it, the same concept that is used for most car batteries today was used in these batteries.
Planté’s design made use of lead and lead dioxide as the positive and negative electrodes. This was the first ever battery in the history of a car battery that used a single electrolyte for both electrodes. The biggest breakthrough of lead-acid batteries was that its design enabled battery recharge reversing the natural chemical reaction.
Even though this design had some limitations and deficiencies, including short power delivery duration, it was a major step in the car battery evolution and is the clear ancestor to today’s automotive batteries.
Later on, in 1881, a French chemical engineer, Camille Alphonse Faure, further improved Planté’s concept by creating a better structure for the battery. Distinct from Planté’s coiled design, Faure made a lead grid lattice in which a plate was formed with the pressing of the lead oxide.
This innovative design allowed multiple plates to be combined for a greater power potential and was easy to produce in massive quantities.
The Electric Starter – An Important Component in Vehicle Design
Significant improvements were made to Plante’s original designs from 1859 to the turn of the century, however, early vehicle systems did not use lead-acid batteries. Case in point: Most vehicles during that era didn’t operate on electricity and used mechanical systems like crank systems to operate. Therefore, the need for storing electricity in cars wasn’t in much demand.
Later on, in 1912, it was the same electric starter that changed the evolution of car battery driving the need to store electrical capacity in cars. One of the facts about Cadillacs is that the 1912 Cadillac was the first-ever electric starter car in America.
Electric starters made car batteries important for starting vehicles. This car self-starter was developed by Henry M. Leland and Charles Kettering at Cadillac and was later purchased by General Motors. Here are a few interesting General Motors facts.
By the 1920s most cars were equipped with electric starters. This evolution in car battery increased the need for a reliable power supply within the vehicle’s architecture and made way for lead-acid batteries as an important part of the automotive industry.
In 1918, Hudson Motor Car Company started using a standard-sized battery. This size was according to the specifications set by BCI (Battery Council International). Some BCI battery group sizes which are still used today include Group 24 and Group 27, to name a few.
From this period till the 1950s, 6V systems were used by car starting batteries and electrical systems. Then, a major shift took place in the 1950s, as larger car engines required more power. This requirement was fulfilled by 12V batteries and systems.
Some suggest this was the last major change to car battery system design before the end of the 20th century.
However, there were improvements and advancements during this period. A decade later, in the 1960s, the car battery evolution saw the introduction of maintenance-free batteries that removed the requirements of adding water to the car battery.
An important step that made battery maintenance convenient was the introduction of the Delco-Remy Freedom Battery in 1971. This was the first maintenance-free lead acid battery used in an automotive application.
The Introduction to AGM Batteries and Gel-Based Batteries
As the car battery evolution progressed there were significant changes in battery technology, vehicle design and developments.
In the 1970s, car battery evolution made way for Absorbed glass mat (AGM) batteries – which offered improved performance and longer life than traditional lead-acid batteries.
There was an increase in vehicle electrical demand in the 1990s and 2000s, due to an increase in the in-cabin conveniences and an ever-growing electrical system. This made it clear the traditional lead acid batteries had limitations in terms of meeting system needs – as a result, new batteries were introduced with diverse constructions and chemistries.
A massive response to meet vehicle power requirements was the use of AGMs.
AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) car batteries were used in military applications in the mid-1980s. Several benefits were brought to the vehicle design system with these Valve Regulated Lead Acid (VRLA).
First of all, they have much lower internal resistance when compared with flooded batteries. Simply put, AGM batteries heat up less in the typical charging/discharging cycle – this naturally enhances longevity.
Moreover, AGM batteries discharge more deeply as compared to traditional flooded batteries, and they are more vibration resistant due to their construction. These batteries are sealed, don’t spill and can be operated and stored in different orientations.
A major systems evolution that made AGM batteries popular was the adoption of Start-Stop engine systems, which enabled the engine to shut down when the vehicle comes to a complete stop and immediately start it back when the car driver’s foot is taken off the brake. These systems enabled manufacturers to improve fuel efficiency.
Later on, in the 1980s, gel batteries were introduced in the automotive industry. These batteries had better performance and longer life when compared with AGM batteries.
Fast Forward to Lithium, Hybrids and EV Car Batteries
As the auto industry entered the new millennium, hybrid and electric cars emerged which increased the demand for new advanced batteries with greater power and higher energy densities.
To meet the need for power/weight, hybrids made use of NiMH (nickel-metal hydride). Here is everything you need to know about hybrid car batteries.
Moving forward to the 2020s, many OE manufacturers are now incorporating Lithium batteries into traditional designs as starting batteries (for instance: Porsche) and components within Start-Stop systems.
The energy-dense chemistries of Lithium batteries deliver high amounts of power (this can be the starting power or the reserve power) in a small, lightweight package.
Moreover, plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles have an increasing need for more power – this makes Li-ion batteries popular among many hybrids and EVs. That said, this increased power delivery comes with a corresponding increase in weight, even with Li-ion constructions. Always maintain your electric car batteries for longer ranges and optimal performance.
It won’t be wrong to assume that soon Li-ion batteries are going to reach their limit in terms of power delivery within a reasonable weight range. Many new battery chemistries and technologies including hydrogen fuel cells, are competing to become the next preferred power source for electric vehicles.
That is all about the history and evolution of car battery. Make sure you maintain your car battery for better vehicle performance.
Stay tuned to dubizzle’s top auto blog for more on car batteries, car maintenance and repair tips and much more.
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