physics

UltraBattery

UltraBattery is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand UltraBattery rather than just read about it. In short: UltraBattery is a trademark of the lead-acid battery technology commercialized by Furukawa Battery Co. Ltd.

Key takeaways

UltraBattery belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect UltraBattery to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of UltraBattery from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

UltraBattery is a trademark of the lead-acid battery technology commercialized by Furukawa Battery Co. Ltd. UltraBattery has thin carbon layers on spongy lead active material for negative plates. The original idea that combines ultracapacitor technology with lead–acid battery technology in a single cell with a common electrolyte came from Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).

Introduction Research conducted by independent laboratories, such as the United States's Sandia National Laboratories, the Advanced Lead-Acid Battery Consortium (ALABC), the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and commercial tests by East Penn Manufacturing, Furukawa Battery and Ecoult indicate that in comparison with conventional valve regulated lead acid (VRLA) batteries, UltraBattery technology has higher energy efficiencies, a longer lifetime and superior charge acceptance under partial state of charge (SoC) conditions. Combining the two technologies in one battery cell means that UltraBattery works very efficiently compared with conventional lead acid technologies largely due to the fact that it can be operated for long periods in a partial state of charge (pSoC), whereas conventional lead acid batteries are more typically designed for high SoC use (i.e. when the battery is close to fully charged). Operating in the partial SoC range extends the battery's life chiefly by reducing sulfation and by reducing time spent operating at very high and very low states of charge, where various side reactions tend to cause deterioration. A conventional VRLA battery tends to deteriorate quickly when operated in this partial SoC range.

History The original idea of UltraBattery came from CSIRO. The development of UltraBattery was funded by the Australian government. Japanese company Furukawa Battery Co., Ltd also contributed to the development of UltraBattery technology, and the Japanese government funded part of its development through the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). In 2007, East Penn Manufacturing obtained a global head license to manufacture and commercialize UltraBattery technology for motive and automotive applications (in various territories) and for stationary energy storage applications (globally, outside Japan and Thailand, where Furukawa Battery is the head license holder). The United States Department of Energy has also funded UltraBattery for research into grid-scale stationary energy storage applications. In 2007, CSIRO formed a subsidiary company, Ecoult, to address this market. Ecoult also received support from the Australian Government to further the development of Ultrabattery. In May 2010, US battery manufacturer East Penn Manufacturing acquired Ecoult from CSIRO. In March 2013, the Australian Government announced further funding through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency's Emerging Renewables Program to further develop UltraBattery technology as cost-effective energy storage for residential and commercial renewable energy systems.

Storage principle Energy storage principle of UltraBattery is same as conventional lead-acid battery. The carbon layers on the negative electrode act as reaction sites for reduction of Pb2+ ions to Pb(0) and storage sites of Pb2+ ions.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with UltraBattery

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what UltraBattery claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to UltraBattery before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about UltraBattery ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of UltraBattery

In research: UltraBattery appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses UltraBattery in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: UltraBattery is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Australian inventions, Energy storage, Rechargeable batteries, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for UltraBattery outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study UltraBattery in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what UltraBattery means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain UltraBattery out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is UltraBattery in simple terms?

UltraBattery is a trademark of the lead-acid battery technology commercialized by Furukawa Battery Co. Ltd.

Why does UltraBattery matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study UltraBattery?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on UltraBattery.