Abstract:In the present study, the relationship between properties of different carbon materials and their impact on performance of VRLA (valve regulated lead acid) battery was studied. The material properties undertaken for the study are: surface area, conductivity and water absorption of the carbon. The electrode morphology revealed the uniform distribution of active material when high surface area carbon was added to NAM (negative active material). The porosity of the plate also exhibited changes with respect to type of carbon materials added. The study further revealed that, the addition of high surface area carbon (~1,400 m 2 /g) improves the charge acceptance of the battery with higher loading. Further improvement in charge acceptance was observed with addition of graphite to higher surface area carbon. Nevertheless, the float current of the battery got affected due to graphite loading and found there was no impact on shelf life of the battery in all the cases. The study demonstrates the need for customized "carbon formulation" to obtain the maximum performance out of the battery.