Battery
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A zinc-air primary dry battery capable of five to eight times the performance of an equivalent Leclanche cell has been developed by Crompton Parkinson Ltd; the package is said to be much smaller and lighter than any conventional battery of similar capacity. The battery has been designed mainly for applications where high power is required during periods of continuous use, and where savings in weight or space are also important.
The first battery in production, type 2AS, takes up the same space as two AA penlight batteries, is rated at a nominal 2.8V in use, and has a capacity of at least 2.5 Ah. It is now available to manufacturers and designers of equipment for evaluation and use.
The present cost of Crompton zinc-air batteries is competitive with special-duty battery systems and as demand increases it is expected that the cost per Watt-hour can be reduced to a level much closer to that of the better grades of the Leclanche system.
The claimed power-weight • ratio and its claimed ability to deliver currents at near constant voltage, will make the zinc-air battery of particular interest to design engineers, both for new equipment and for the replacement of existing primary and secondary batteries in applications where improved performance is required.
Zinc-air batteries may be used in equipment which cannot at present be operated by conventional dry batteries because they do not have a sufficiently high power rating in relations to their size.
Although standardizing on a range which will be made in sizes similar to existing dry batteries, Crompton Parkinson is prepared to consider designing and manufacturing other types of zinc-air dry batteries for special applications.
For further information:. A. A. Guttridge or Brian Mee, Hawker Siddeley Group, 32 Duke Street, St James's, London, SW1, (tel: 01-930 6177); P. Home, Crompton Parkinson Ltd, Crompton House, Aldwych, London, WC2, (tel: 01-242 3333).