Ni-Cd batteries have been around nearly as long as lead-acid. Commercial products have been available since around 19007. Pocket plate designs are typically used for long to high current types, while fiber plates are used for extremely high current short demand applications like engine starting.  

While Ni-Cd batteries typically cost many times what a comparable lead-acid does, their characteristics make them ideal for many applications. Their advantages over lead-acid designs include:

• High resistance to damage by over charging

• Very small loss in capacity at low temperatures

• Much greater resistance to loss of life when operated at high temperatures

• No dip in voltage during the first minute of discharge

• Stainless Steel interconnecting hardware does not loose compression or corrode

• Lower water consumption

• Lower maintenance cost

• No rapid decrease in capacity after reaching a certain point in battery life

Advantages for Applications？

1. Low temperature applications – Ni-Cd is hard to beat. Ni-Cd suffers virtually no capacity loss at low temperatures. As a result, you need a much smaller battery than a lead-acid to do the same job which can offset the higher cost of the Ni-Cd. Throw in the lower maintenance costs and this can be an easy decision.

2. High temperature applications – Ni-Cd holds the edge here. Ni-Cd loss of life at high temperatures is less than vented lead-acid but may be cost prohibitive. This is one of the applications where life cycle cost is a key for selecting a battery type. In my opinion, vented lead-calcium and lead-selenium come in second and third as far as the best choice, but they can easily win the life cycle cost analysis. For standby applications, VRLA and lead-antimony are not suitable for high temperature applications. VRLA because of dry out and lead-antimony because of antimony poisoning. As a result both battery types are easily driven into thermal runaway.

3. Engine starting – Ni-Cd shines in this application but can be cost prohibitive. Lead-acid works well here and easily wins the initial cost battle but can just as easily lose the life cycle cost war. The following real world example is provided as an illustration of this point.