Vehicles testing of near-term batteries

Vehicles test results are reported for nickel-iron, nickel-zinc, and improved lead-acid batteries developed under the Near-Term Battery Program sponsored by the Department of Energy. The batteries have demonstrated a range improvement of up to 90% over current lead-acid batteries due to improved energy density and ampere-hour capacity, combined with relatively small weight and volume. However, the nickel-iron battery requires a substantial development effort in packaging the circulating electrolyte system and handling the generated hydrogen volume, while the nickel-zinc batteries tested suffer from short cycle life.