Recent new additives for electric vehicle lead-acid batteries for extending the cycle life and capacity

An electrochemically prepared colloidal graphite was found to be an excellent additive for lead-acid batteries. The new additive extends the capacity and cycle life of new and old batteries and can regenerate old, almost dead, batteries. The colloidal graphite is stable in aqueous solution and the extremely fine particles are adsorbed mainly on the positive electrode. This additive has been given the name, /spl alpha/-Pholon. The amount required is very small: only 6% to 10% of volume of the /spl alpha/-Pholon solution (about 2% colloidal graphite in water solution). The beneficial effect of the new additive was demonstrated with motorcycle batteries and forklift batteries.