All about Lead

Many of lead’s uses have been in decline for some time – first to go many decades ago was its use for water pipes, its use in solder and paints is in rapid decline and environmental legislation is attempting to reduce its use in shot gun pellets, fishing weights and weights to balance car tyres. The lead/zinc battery for powering domestic electronics has also largely been replaced by NiCd batteries. As lead is seen as an environmentally unfriendly metal, it is under constant attack.

The irony is that lead’s use has grown rapidly in the past decade as lead-acid batteries are still used extensively to start vehicles’ engines and although the technology has improved the lead-acid battery has proven its suitability in this role.

The take off in mobile technology, with mobile phone base stations needing power at remote locations, often generated by wind and solar power and stored in batteries, plus the need for backup power at data centres have led to a take-off in industrial battery demand.

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