Abstract: A sealed gas recombining lead-acid cell with absorbed electrolyte is produced by assembling unformed plates and high porosity glass mat separator whose surface area is from 0.2-1.7 m.sup.2 /g, adding a limited quantity of acid into the cell, and then either prior to or after sealing of the cell electrochemically forming the plates of the cell in situ. High rate performance of the cell is significantly improved over the cells using conventional high surface area glass separators.