Nickel-zinc battery

The nickel-zinc battery (sometimes abbreviated NiZn) is a type of rechargeable battery commonly used in the light electric vehicle sector.

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History

Developed by an Irish chemist, Dr James J. Drumm (1897-1974)^[1] and installed in four 2-car Drumm Railcar sets between 1932 and 1946 for use on the Dublin-Bray line. Although successful they were then withdrawn when the batteries became life expired.

Applications

The battery is still not commonly found in the mass market, but they are considered as the next generation batteries used for high drain applications, and is expected to replace lead-acid batteries because of their higher energy to mass ratio and higher power to mass ratio (up to 75% lighter for the same power), and are relatively cheap compared to nickel-cadmium batteries (expected to be priced somewhere in between NiCd and lead-acids, but have twice the energy storing capacity).

Electrochemistry

2Ni(OH)₂(s) + Zn(OH)₂(s) ↔ 2Ni(OH)₃(s) + Zn(s)

References

1. ^ Famous Irish Chemists: James J. Drumm