The Technical Seminar programme at Automechanika Birmingham provided the perfect platform for ECOBAT Battery Technologies, formally Manbat, to inform technicians about the future of battery technology in particular in relation to the independent aftermarket. 

ECOBAT Technical Manager, John Bentley, explained that the predicted growth in start-stop battery replacement has largely failed to materialise. He said this was mainly down to the fact that the absorbed glass matt (AGM) batteries developed to cope with the demands of these start-stop systems, are in practice, not being used in the way they were designed.

The AGM battery is a formidable piece of engineering that, unlike a traditional starter/lighting/ignition (SLI) battery, is designed with a high cyclic capacity and the ability to recharge extremely quickly. This is needed because, over their design life, which was projected to be around four years, they are expected, due to the vehicle’s start-stop system, to make 350,000 engine starts, compared with the 30,000 expected by an SLI battery. However, many drivers have used the override to deactivate the system the batteries are often under used.

Therefore, despite the fact that start-stop systems have been around for well over a decade and fitted to an increasing majority of new vehicles produced annually since 2012, the aftermarket has not witnessed significant sales of AGM batteries, as they are not failing and therefore not having to be replaced.

However, John also pointed out that things are finally about to change and technicians in particular need to be prepared, because they will be at the frontline as these AGM and EFB (enhanced flooded battery) batteries come into play. Although a combination of circumstances delayed their aftermarket impact, so another combination will hasten the growth. First, legislation has intervened and VMs can no longer allow drivers to override the system and switch off the start-stop function and second, the batteries in the first generation systems are finally coming to the end of their falsely extended life. 

Taking this intelligence into account, the latest projection reveals that by the end of the year, 12% of battery replacements with be AGM/EFB, which will grow steadily year-on-year so that by 2020, a 20% of replacements will be AGM/EFB. Furthermore, these batteries require special tools and fitting procedures that need to be followed to prevent their premature failure, so technicians need to fully understand the challenges in order to benefit from the opportunities these batteries present.