AGY, a U.S. manufacturer of specialty glass fibers, is supplying its S2 Glass® fiber for composite grids used in Terra Supreme Battery’s new Group 31 bipolar lead-acid batteries, bringing advanced glass-fiber reinforcement into a conventional battery architecture.
Terra Supreme combines pure lead with high-strength S2 Glass fiber to produce dimensionally stable composite grids that support the battery's internal structure through repeated charging and discharging. According to the companies, the reinforcement provides a strength-to-weight advantage of approximately 10 times that of steel and helps preserve the geometry of the grid during operation.
The composite grid is designed to address positive active-material shedding, a major degradation mechanism in lead-acid batteries. By maintaining the original geometry of the glass-fiber-reinforced grid, the technology helps keep the active material structurally supported throughout the battery's service life, with the aim of improving durability, cycle life, and long-term performance.
“S2 Glass fiber was developed for applications where exceptional strength, durability and dimensional stability are essential,” said Patrick Hunter, chief commercial officer and president of AGY. “Terra Supreme’s innovative use of S2 Glass demonstrates how advanced glass-fiber reinforcement can help transform a well-established battery chemistry and address one of its most persistent performance limitations.”
The Group 31 battery uses a bipolar configuration with horizontally arranged plates and a shorter internal current path. The architecture eliminates conventional internal busbars and is designed as a direct replacement for existing Group 31 batteries without requiring modifications to the charging system.
Terra Supreme reports that the battery delivers 1,200 cold-cranking amps, 1,800 marine-cranking amps, and 3,000 pulse hot-cranking amps, along with 240 minutes of reserve capacity. The battery can achieve up to 4,000 cycles at 60% depth of discharge and incorporates a Bluetooth-enabled monitoring system. It is backed by a five-year limited replacement warranty.
“Our objective was to rethink the lead-acid battery from the inside out,” said Benny E. Jay, chief technology officer of Terra Supreme Battery. “AGY’s S2 Glass fiber provides the strength and dimensional stability required for our proprietary composite grids.”
The battery is intended for a broad range of high-power starting and deep-cycle applications, including commercial transportation, emergency services, industrial equipment, agriculture, aerospace, military, marine, recreational vehicles, railroads, and off-grid and grid-connected energy storage.
The application expands the use of advanced glass-fiber composites beyond established aerospace, defense, and industrial markets and into energy-storage systems. By reinforcing the battery grid with S2 Glass fiber, Terra Supreme is applying composite materials to improve structural stability and address a key durability limitation of lead-acid battery technology.
Source: AGY | LinkedIn
