Perry Kramer
Bio
Perry Kramer is the Assistant Vice President of Technology, in the Research and Development department at East Penn Manufacturing Co., Inc. He has been in the battery industry for over 20 years. He leads a team of researchers responsible for R&D development of products, projects, processes, and battery testing for various product lines. He is currently a contributor to the design and development of advanced lead batteries for multiple applications at East Penn. He has extensive experience analyzing individual battery components in the East Penn lab where he has developed and optimized testing procedures. Perry has a B.S. in Chemistry from Moravian College (Major in Chemistry/Minor in Biology).
East Penn continually investigates novel lead battery designs with the goal of maintaining market position and expanding into new applications. Carbon felt negative current collectors (trade name ArcActive) and the BiPolar battery are two examples of novel design concepts that East Penn has investigated with industry partners. Methodologies used to advance research, such as minimum viable products and experiments, will be discussed. Implementation of pilot lines and prototype builds have allowed East Penn to exhibit the capability of these technologies in automotive, reserve power and motive power applications. Both technologies require manufacturing technology that is not common in the current lead battery industry. Through design iterations and process improvements, East Penn has increased the MRL and TRL level of each of these technologies. In the following examples, East Penn has demonstrated the capability of these technologies through multiple experiments and prototype builds. ArcActive negative electrodes significantly improve charge acceptance in both micro hybrid and AUX EV applications while also potentially improving calendar life in high temperature float applications. BiPolar technology significantly improves deep discharge cycle life and is very tolerant to abuse such as over-discharge. These attributes make this technology attractive in many applications including personal mobility, ESS, motive power, and as an automotive AUX battery. This presentation will describe the inventions, early experimentation with test results, and new approaches for manufacturing these novel designs. East Penn continues to further research by combining technologies into a single platform when application needs warrant this approach. Customer interest in these products is evidence that lead batteries can have a bright future in an expanding portfolio of applications.
