Abstract: A reduced weight lead-acid battery is produced incorporating light-weight negative battery plates each comprising an electrically-conductive open mesh grid formed from a strip of expanded, punched or cast metal, a pair of outer lower density support layers such as polymer or polymer-coated glass fibre or low density metal on each side of the central open grid, preferably arranged in a rectangular lattice, attached to each other through openings in the grid preferably by an acid-resistant adhesive, and an electrochemically-active paste saturating the void spaces thereof. An acid-resistant thermoplastic resin adhesive or ties or lugs may be used to attach the support layers together.

Abstract: Lead-acid battery plates are made by preparing alloys of lead with at least one additive metal that can be leached with an acid or an alkali from the alloy leaving a porous permeable lead matrix. The additive metal must be evenly and finely dispersed in the lead. A number of additive metals can be used but the additive metal is preferably magnesium or zinc and magnesium, each in a preferred amount in the range of about 3 to 15% by weight. The lead alloy is prepared by casting, preferably by rapid solidification casting, and subsequently pulverizing the alloy. The resulting lead alloy particles are applied to a conventional lead alloy battery grid by pressing, causing the formation of a coherent plate of grid and alloy. The plate is subsequently leached in an alkali or an acid which causes the substantial removal of additive metal from the alloy leaving a coherent porous permeable layer of substantially lead as active material. The preferred leachant is sulfuric acid.