The workshop series on Automotive Lead Battery Advancements (ALBA) is a successful annual event dedicated to exchange and collaboration along the automotive battery value chain. For the first time this year, we are bringing an edition to Asia. It will take place on Monday 1 and Tuesday 2 September in Kota Kinabalu, Borneo, and will be part of a full week of premier events focused on lead, battery recycling, and lead-acid battery innovation.

ALBA Asia 2025 will run alongside several major industry gatherings, including:
– 9th International Secondary Lead and Battery Recycling Conference (RECYCLE100)
– 21st Asian Battery Conference and Exhibition (21ABC)
– Consortium for Battery Innovation’s (CBI) Technical Workshop.

Participants in the ALBA Workshop will have the opportunity to engage in selected sessions of RECYCLE100 and the CBI Technical Workshop, and can also register separately to attend 21ABC.

ALBA Asia 2025 will feature a mix of overview talks, technical papers and interactive discussion sessions on the following topic areas:

Market trends and new applications for automotive 12V batteries, ranging from micro-hybrid to electric vehicles
Field experience and failure mechanisms of auxiliary batteries in hybrid and electric vehicles
Power performance beyond & after engine cranking
Charging performance – new application demands and competing technologies
How can we quickly restore peak-power performance (state of function, SOF)? Limitations and improvements of charge recovery
Engineering tools and guidelines for smart application of 12V lead batteries: Sizing, charging, supporting functional safety

The Workshop will take place at Hilton Kota Kinabalu and Workshop participants are invited to attend an icebreaker reception at the Hilton on Sunday evening and also join our dinner event being held at a beautiful beach front venue on Monday evening.

RECYCLE100 Website

ALBA Workshop agenda

The Workshop will commence Monday morning and conclude after lunch on Tuesday.

Session timing is preliminary. Click here to view PDF version of the Agenda.

Sunday 31 August

5:30pm – 7:00pm

Ice Breaker Drinks
Location: Rooftop Terrace, Hilton Kota Kinabalu
Join us for our informal icebreaker to meet other delegates as we kick-off our ALBA Workshop.

Monday 1 September

9:00am – 10:30am	Lead Market Trends (joint plenary session ALBA & RECYCLE100) Conference Opening – Mark Stevenson, Eckhard Karden Challenges Facing Lead Producers and Consumers Over the Next Five Years – Huw Roberts Global Lead Market Facts, Figures & Fundamentals – Joao Jorge Recycled Lead in China – Dong Li
10:30am – 10:45am	Morning Tea
10:45am – 11:40am	Automotive battery market perspectives Market Trend in Japan and Southeast Asia – Kohei Koga The Adaptive Shift: Emerging Trends in Indian Automotive Batteries – Mohamed Sharif Automotive market trends in Asia – Prince Elmer Reyes The trend of LAB as low-voltage power for NEV – Kevin Luo* NEV low-volt battery application and trend – Zhao Ke* Market trends for other regions – Eckhard Karden OEM expert survey about 12V battery requirements and technologies – Begüm Bozkaya
11:40am – 12:30pm	New vehicle applications for 12V lead batteries Stop/start and micro-hybrid functions – Eckhard Karden 12V mild-hybrid functions in contrast to micro-hybrid – Jun Furukawa 12V auxiliary and backup battery applications – Eckhard Karden How do 12V auxiliary batteries fail in the field? Field data overview – Eckhard Karden Field life of 12V AUX batteries in HEV – Kohei Koga Analysis of failure modes and charging strategies for 12V auxiliary batteries in NEV – Kevin Luo* Failure mode investigation of 12V batteries in BEV – Zhao Ke*
12:30pm – 1:30pm	Lunch
1:30pm – 3:15pm	Power performance beyond & after engine cranking State of Function (SOF): A concept to define, measure and monitor power performance – Eckhard Karden The new pulse-power characterization (PPC) and mapping methods in IEC 60095-8 – Eckhard Karden PPC-based performance characterization for alternative battery chemistries – Yukiyasu Nagata, Eason Tu, Shawn Peng Transient power boost in freshly charged batteries – Eckhard Karden, Grace Rocha* How far can we improve SOF recovery? Analysis of IEC benchmarking data – Yu Ping* Breakout Session (express talks & poster discussions on application and research topics)
3:15pm – 3:45pm	Afternoon Tea
3:45pm – 4:30pm	Charging performance – new application demands and competing technologies Session introduction: Charging performance – new application demands and competing technologies – Eckhard Karden Microhybrid battery requirements: How DCA, shallow-cycle life and high-temperature durability go together – Shane Christie, Campbell Matthews How can we efficiently qualify micro-hybrid batteries for global OEMs? Synopsis of international test standards – Prince Elmer Reyes 12V mild HEV battery requirements in contrast to micro-hybrid – Jun Furukawa Measuring the recovery of both SOC and SOF in the new IEC 60095-8 – Eckhard Karden Charge Recovery test method for cell-technology comparison (breakout session – Tuesday) – Yukiyasu Nagata
4:30pm – 5:30pm	How can the negative electrode improve DCA and Charge Recovery? Review about negative electrodewith respect to charging – Jun Furukawa UltraBattery: Performance and mechanisms – Jun Furukawa From grid plates to GEM/AA fibre-structure negative electrodes – Mahadevaswamy Kodimole Mahadevappa, Jibo Zhang, John Wertz DCA, Charge Recovery and hot-climate fleet test data for EFB with additivated negative plates – Grace Rocha* NAM modificati on effect on Charge Recovery – Yu Ping* The role of lignosulfonate molecular weight on 2V cell performance (breakout session – Tuesday) – Luke Salzer, Carter Abney
6:30pm – 9:30pm	Workshop Dinner Venue: The Pacific Sutera Hotel Transfers will depart Hilton Kota Kinabalu, Holiday Inn Express Kota Kinabalu City Centre and Marriott Kota Kinabalu at 6:10 pm. Return transfers to both hotels will commence from 8:45 pm.

Tuesday 2 September

8:15am – 9:00am	Think out of the box: new concepts for automotive batteries Future Separator Design for enhanced flooded batteries under partial state-of-charge (PSoC) duty – Naoto Miyake, Eric Miller* Stratosphere versus conventional separator (breakout session – Tuesday) – Naoto Miyake Primary or Secondary Lead – Is there really a difference? – Mark Stevenson
9:00am – 10:00am	How can the positive electrode improve DCA and Charge Recovery? Limitations of the charging reaction in the positive electrode and mechanisms of SOF recovery – Paul Everill PAM material investigations before & after CR test – Paul Everill About the interaction of charging regime and PAM – Enqin Gao Can pauses accelerate charging? – Eckhard Karden Laser microscopy to investigate PAM during charging – Micha Kirchgessner, Rainer Bussar Laser microscopy scans of freshly-charged versus freshly discharged PAM (breakout session – Tuesday) – Micha Kirchgessner, Rainer Bussar CBI Best Practices Manual for efficient technology research and material screening – Matt Raiford
10:00am – 10:15am	Morning Tea
10:15am – 11:15am	Breakout Session (express talks & poster discussions on application and research topics)
11:15am – 12:00pm	Engineering tools and guidelines for smart application of 12V lead batteries The CBI ALBAplus program to support application-oriented R&D for automotive applications – Begüm Bozkaya Which CCA rating does my auxiliary battery need? Launching a web-based CAE tool – Jonathan Wirth* Recommendation for 12V Charging Strategy in BEV – Roger Zimmermann* How can 12V batteries support Functional Safety? – Eckhard Karden
12:00pm – 12:30pm	Closing ALBA Asia Opportunities for collaboration and application-relevant research – Panel Discussion Participants’ feedback – All
12:30pm – 1:30pm	Lunch
1:30pm onwards	Opportunity to engage in the CBI Technical Workshop and selected sessions of RECYCLE100

ALBA Workshop Topics

ALBA Asia 2025 will feature a mix of overview talks, technical papers and interactive discussion sessions on the following topic areas:

Market trends and new applications for 12V lead batteries

market perspectives from regions inside and outside Asia
micro and mild hybrids – innovative concepts for emerging markets
electric and hybrid vehicles – auxiliary and backup batteries
field experience and failure mechanisms in micro-hybrids and auxiliary batteries

Limitations and improvements of charge recovery

negative electrode: how to open up the bottle-neck for charging current – additives or alternative electrode designs?
positive electrode: understanding the transient SOF boost – and maximizing the effect? Methods for cell testing and material investigation.

Charging performance – lead batteries being challenged by new application demands and competing technologies

micro-hybrid: brief review of dynamic charge acceptance (DCA) and shallow-cycling durability
12V mild-hybrid: generalizing DCA
charge recovery for auxiliary batteries (CR in IEC 60095-8 CDV)
alternative technologies: How do lithium-ion and sodium-ion compare at low temperature?

Power performance beyond & after engine cranking

state of function (SOF) – generalized load profile definition
pulse power characterization (PPC in IEC 60095-8 CDV)
transient SOF boost after charging

Engineering tools and guidelines for smart application of 12V lead batteries

Which CCA does an auxiliary battery need?
12V charging guidelines for electric vehicles
reliability prove-out for safety-relevant (ASIL) vehicle functions

New insights

flipping the separator: design rule under scrutiny
metallurgy challenged by legislation and supply chains

Presenters

Among the workshop presenters are:

Paul Everill, Mohamed Sharif
Black Diamond

Jun Furukawa
Consultant

Eckhard Karden
Consultant

Micha Kirchgessner
Penox

Kohei Koga
GS Yuasa, BAJ

Campbell Matthews, Shane Christie
ArcActive

Yukiyasu Nagata
QS-TEK

Matt Raiford, Begüm Bozkaya
CBI

Grace Rocha*
ITEMM

Luke Salzer, Carter Abney
Borregaard

Naoto Miyake. Eric Miller*
Daramic

Mahadevaswamy Kodimole Mahadevappa, Jibo Zhang* & John Wertz*
Hollingsworth & Vose

Enqin Gao
Hammond

Zhao Ke
Leoch International

Yu Ping*, Kevin Luo*
Camel Group

Jonathan Wirth*
BatterieIngenieure

Roger Zimmermann*
Combatec

Mark Stevenson
Global Lead Technologies

Prince Elmer Reyes
Philippine Batteries

* = Remote Speaker

Workshop Dinner

Date: Monday 1 September 2025
Venue: Pacific Sutera Resort
Time: 6.30 PM – 9:00 PM

We will be joining delegates of the RECYCLE100 conference for a wonderful evening at the beautiful Pacific Sutera Resort. Indulge in a delightful selection of local and international cuisine, paired with an extensive variety of beverages. With lively entertainment highlights throughout the evening, it’s the perfect way to unwind and connect with fellow attendees.

We look forward to welcoming you in person this September in Kota Kinabalu, East Malaysia, on the beautiful island of Borneo!

Warm regards,

Eckhard Karden
Workshop Chair
Automotive Lead Battery Advancements (ALBA) Workshop

Workshop Registration

Includes attendance at all workshop sessions, conference bag, conference merchandise, speaker presentations, morning and afternoon teas, lunch’s daily, Sundays informal ice-breaker event along with Monday night’s conference dinner.

Conference Dinner Tickets

Attendance to Monday evenings Conference Dinner is included in the rate of all Workshop passes. If you would like to purchase an additional dinner ticket for your partner you may do so during the registration process.

Additional Dinner Ticket: USD120.00

Insurance and Liability

The Organisers do not take responsibility for any individual, medical, travel or personal insurance. Participants are advised to secure their own insurance policies as necessary.

Health

Please consult with your physician regarding health precautions prior to visiting Kota Kinabalu.

Merchant Fee

If you select to pay via credit card a merchant fee of 3.0% will be added to your registration fee.

Registration Cancellation

Cancellations must be notified to CW3 by 1 July 2025 to receive a refund. Refunds will be provided minus merchant fees, administration fees and currency transaction fees.

Cancellations after this date will not be accepted, however delegates may transfer their registrations to another person.