25 | Mike Berger — Director of Product Engineering, Stryten Energy

🚀 “It’s not rocket science,” someone once told Mike Berger, Stryten Energy’s Director of Product Engineering. "Yes," he agreed. “It’s probably even a little more complicated than rocket science because really it takes chemistry, electricity, materials, and electrochemistry.” Listen to this episode to understand what he’s talking about in discussion with BioZen’s CEO Nate Kirchhofer.

Stryten Energy is a US manufacturer of high-quality lead (Pb) batteries, lithium (Li) batteries, and vanadium (V) redox flow batteries (RFBs)—as well as chargers and performance management software. Their variety of Industrial Pb battery production plants are concentrated in the US Midwest, whereas their Innovation Centers are located in Ottowa (Li-ion) and Denver (VRFBs). Overall, with 2.5 million sq ft of manufacturing space and 2500 employees, Stryten cranks out 14 GWh of energy storage products per year, putting them at #3 in the US, and they address four major market segments:

1. Essential Power: telecom, utilities, microgrids, residential solar, security
2. Motive Power: 90% of it is forklifts, as well as chargers and performance management tools
3. Transportation: batteries for automotive e, truck, SUV, heavy duty, agriculture, marine
4. Military and Government: submarines, micro grids, combat vehicles, ground logistics

Mike brings a wealth of insights from his 30 years of experience in Pb acid batteries. We learn about tradeoffs in performance / cost / design decisions to make a battery that meets customer requirements at a good value, and how Pb batteries compare to Li-ion. We also learn about some of the biggest challenges in scaling up energy storage to meet the demand needed in the next 10-20 years: “I think the scale is by far my biggest concern for alternative energy storage, regardless of which chemistry. And that's why I believe that all chemistries are going to be needed because I think they're all going to serve a purpose,” he says, concluding that “Pb chemistry [is] available, affordable, recyclable, safe, reliable and well-understood. We shouldn't dismiss Pb technology just because of its age. I think there's a great opportunity to optimize Pb for these new challenges that are before us.”

Stick around for more facts about Stryten and the Pb industry:

• 90% of Pb batteries used & sold in the US are made in the US. Over 99% of Pb batteries are recycled, and 100% of the Pb that Stryten uses is recycled. The plastic, and in some cases even the acid, can be recycled.
• Pb has historically been a health risk, but the immense history of innovation, engineering controls, and personal protective equipment now prevent exposure.
• <5% of Li batteries are recycled. By contrast, Pb batteries at >99% show a path for value retention and a circular recycling economy.
• Pb batteries were perfected in the field. In comparison, Li-ion batteries were designed and perfected in the lab. Because of this, lab R&D for Pb batteries will improve efficiency, cycle life, and applications.
• The Pb industry is old, but they have committed to novel pre-competitive joint R&D with national labs, such as the recently awarded $5M in DOE funding to establish the Consortium for Lead Battery Leadership in Long Duration Energy Storage including Stryten and 7 other BCI-member Pb-battery companies.
• Remote EV Fast Charging stations may be a great application for Pb batteries due to their safety and reliability.