Lead-acid batteries

In plain language

A lead-acid battery is made of two lead-based plates standing in a watery acid solution. When the battery is used, the chemistry on the plates changes and electricity flows out. When current is pushed back into it, the chemistry reverses and the battery is charged again.

Gaston Planté's 1859 design was the first practical battery of this kind that could be recharged in this way. Early cells gave only about 2 volts each and could not deliver large currents for very long. Camille Faure's pasted plates later gave a substantial increase in capacity. Charles Kettering's electric starter, shown to Cadillac in 1911 and used on its 1912 model, replaced the hand crank.

Technical explanation

Planté's cell used a lead electrode (negative) and a lead dioxide electrode (positive) in sulphuric acid, with a rubber strip keeping the plates apart. The National MagLab describes the lead dioxide plate as having little active material, which limited the battery's life. Planté's cell produced about 2 volts, almost double the output of the Daniell cell, which produced about 1.1 volts. In 1860 Planté presented a series of nine connected cells to the French Academy of Sciences. Today's common lead-acid car batteries use six cells in series to give 12 volts.

Camille Alphonse Faure's method, which Wikipedia dates to a patent of 1880 and British rights sold in March 1881, coated lead plates with a paste of lead oxides, sulphuric acid and water. The plates were then cured by gentle warming in a humid atmosphere, which turned the paste into lead sulphates bonded to the plate. On charging, this paste became the electrochemically active material. The sources reviewed describe the result as a substantial increase in capacity that allowed industrial manufacture, but they give no figures for capacity, formation time or cycle life, so the size of the gain cannot be stated here.

For starting, Kettering's Delco system used a series-multiple switching arrangement. This gave the higher voltage needed for cranking the engine and 6 volts for the headlamps then in use, and the same unit also acted as a generator to recharge the battery. The 1899 record car La Jamais Contente is reported to have been equipped with a Fulmen battery. The Fulmen article gives no battery or motor specifications for the car, and the statement has no inline citation, so it is not treated as confirmed here.

What the evidence says

Each statement is typed by the strength of its evidence and linked to the source that supports it.

Limitations and open problems

• Planté's early cells had little active material on the lead dioxide plate, which limited the battery's life (National MagLab).
• Planté's early cells could not deliver large currents for very long (National MagLab).
• The sources reviewed give no capacity, formation time or cycle-life figures for Faure's pasted plates, so the size of his improvement cannot be quantified here.
• Dates for Faure's work vary: Wikipedia gives an 1880 patent and March 1881 British rights, while the National MagLab dates his pasted electrode design to 1881.
• The Henry Leland account of a friend injured by a hand crank is anecdotal, rests on a single source, and gives no name or year.
• The sources reviewed do not assess lead content, recycling or environmental effects, which are central to the battery's current use.

Possible future uses

Timeline

1. 1859Gaston Planté produces the first practical rechargeable (secondary) battery, using lead and lead dioxide plates in sulphuric acid. Sources: [1], [2], [3]
2. 1860Planté presents a series of nine connected cells to the French Academy of Sciences. Sources: [1], [2]
3. 1880Camille Alphonse Faure patents his method of pasting lead oxide paste onto lead plates and curing it. Sources: [6]
4. 1881British rights to Faure's pasted-plate method are sold. Sources: [6]
5. 1899The electric record car La Jamais Contente is reported to have been equipped with a Fulmen battery. Sources: [7]
6. 1911Charles Kettering demonstrates an electric starter installed in a Cadillac, using a storage battery with series-multiple switching. Sources: [4]
7. 1912Cadillac introduces the electric self-starter on its 1912 model. Sources: [4], [5]

Glossary

Secondary cell

A battery cell that can be recharged by passing current through it in the reverse direction.

Lead dioxide

The compound that forms the active material of the positive plate in a lead-acid battery.

Pasted plate

An electrode made by spreading a paste of lead oxides onto a lead grid or sheet and curing it, as introduced by Faure.

Series-multiple switching

A wiring arrangement that changes groups of cells between series and parallel connections to give two different voltages from one battery pack.

Sources

1. other
   Gaston Planté
   Engineering and Technology History Wiki (IEEE History Center), 22 Oct 2026. Accessed 22 Oct 2026.
2. other
   Planté Battery – 1859
   National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Magnet Academy, 22 Oct 2026. Accessed 22 Oct 2026.
3. dataset
   One of the First Rechargeable Batteries, about 1860
   Science Museum Group, 22 Oct 2026. Accessed 22 Oct 2026.
4. other
   Charles F. Kettering
   Engineering and Technology History Wiki (IEEE History Center), 22 Oct 2026. Accessed 22 Oct 2026.
5. other
   Case Files: Charles F. Kettering
   The Franklin Institute, 22 Oct 2026. Accessed 22 Oct 2026.
6. other
   Camille Alphonse Faure
   Wikipedia (English), 22 Oct 2026. Accessed 22 Oct 2026.
7. other
   Fulmen Batteries
   Wikipedia (English), 22 Oct 2026. Accessed 22 Oct 2026.

Revision history

3 changes since this profile was created.