Nickel-Iron

This paper is going to look at real life aged 80+ year old Nickel-Iron cells that are still functional and will explain the simple recovery techniques that were documented in an original Edison Alkaline Storage Battery brochure from the 1920's. Some of the cells had been charged intermittently, many had sat off charge for many years, and some had sat off charge and all but empty, but all made very substantial recoveries, and when subjected to discharge testing that followed the guidelines of the IEEE 1115 they all were able to pass load tests at their applicable rate.

I. Introduction

The aim of this paper is to introduce this very old battery technology, which is over 100 years old, to those that have no idea that such a battery exists, or ever did exist. The majority of us are most familiar with various forms of lead acid, or nickel-cadmium as they were and still are the batteries of choice for most stationary applications, with Lithium Ion (in various forms) and other technologies gaining acceptance in many stationary applications.