Abstract: A maintenance-free open industrial storage battery includes an electrode assembly comprising at least one positive electrode, one negative electrode, one separator disposed between the negative electrode and the positive electrode, an alkaline electrolyte covering the top end of the assembly before electrical cycling and a valve the relative operating pressure of which is less than 1 bar. The total capacity of the negative electrodes is greater than the total capacity of the positive electrodes. The separator is permeable to oxygen and the storage battery contains an oxygen recombination device such that after at least one cycle of charging and discharging the storage battery operates without loss of electrolyte at a charging current at least equal to Ic/10 where Ic is the current discharging the capacity of the storage battery in one hour.

Abstract: An electrochemical cell has an alkaline electrolyte comprising a stack placed in a container and composed of at least one anode and at least one cathode containing nickel hydroxide. An oxygen recombination system has at least one recombination electrode which is at least partially hydrophobic and has two opposite faces of large surface area. A first face is joined to the anode. The cell is characterized in that the recombination electrode is associated with a rigid structure which forms, in contact with the second face of the electrode, a nonreducible volume space of small width so as to allow oxygen access throughout the duration of use of the cell.