There’s still life in lead batteries. East Penn Manufacturing operates the largest single-site, lead-acid battery manufacturing facility in the world in Berks County, Pennsylvania.

They argue that their new lead batteries are 99 per cent recyclable and ideal for large-scale storage.

To prove it, they’re developing a 3MW power storage system using the UltraBattery technology invented by Australia’s CSIRO.

By combining lead-acid technology with a supercapacitor, the UltraBattery not only charges and discharges rapidly, but lasts four to five times longer than an ordinary battery.