What do boats, backup generators, golf buggies and temporary traffic lights all have in common? They’re all powered by SLAs batteries… What are they, I hear you ask? Well, not unlike the rat, you’re never more than a few feet away from one! Whether you’re down by the sea ready to set foot on your $1 million speedboat, or waiting patiently at a set of temporary traffic lights, SLAs empower your life with little to no recognition in return… What SLA batteries are used for now is one thing. What they might be used for in the future is even better. SLAs are now also starting to be used to power small electric vehicles, which could become the primary form of personal transport on our roads if the surge in electric car sales over the last few years is anything to go by. In the UK alone, over 47,000 electric cars were registered for use in 2017. Tesla are bucking the trend in using li-ion batteries to power their electric vehicles, which is all well and good for now. However, li-ion batteries are produced using finite resources, so in this age of sustainable living may not even make it too far into the future. Fortunately for ‘electric’-heads everywhere, that’s where SLAs come in. Not only are they far more environmentally-friendly than their li-ion counterparts (many SLAs are recycled), they’re also – by virtue of the fact that they are recyclable – a whole lot cheaper. Everyone’s a winner! SLAs are also used to power USPs, relatively small back-up generators for all your electronics. These can be incredibly handy if you’re caught in a power cut and need to get online. This is beneficial not only for a power cut in a cold winter’s night, but has also been proven useful for those without power in developing countries. SLAs powering portable electricity generators are invaluable assets to many living in dire poverty in Africa and South Asia, and will likely continue to be so long after li-ion has bitten the dust… Even in their more traditional role as the battery-of-choice for golf carts and submarines, the future of lead-acid batteries looks bright. By the end of 2020, the lead-acid battery market is predicted to be worth a whopping $58.55 billion thanks to the rise of electric vehicles. Efforts by many tech companies to improve the lifespan of lead acid batteries will likely only increase the speed by which the SLA market grows. The phenomenal growth predicted in the SLA market in the next five years suggests a new age for the battery. Whether it’s powering the electric cars of the future, or simply backing up your tech, the SLA is a reliable, sustainable and powerful asset in these ever-changing tech times.
FROM TROLLEYS TO TRAFFIC LIGHTS: THE FUTURE OF SLA BATTERIES
The Future’s Electric
Back me up, Scotty!
Money-makers
SLA’s the future…
