18th February 2023 By H&T Recharge
National Battery Day 2023
National Battery Day, which is celebrated on the 18th of February, recognizes the impact that batteries have had on our daily lives and how much we rely on them as consumers.
Being at the forefront of the consumer and Lithium-ion battery industries, both Battery Divisions H&T Battery Components and H&T Recharge support National Battery Day and are proud to be a part of the movement that keeps the world fully charged.
Can you imagine a life without batteries? Thanks to batteries we can use our devices such as laptops, phones, watches, flashlights etc. on the go without the need to permanently recharge. We even have the chance to use more sustainable and emission-free ways of transport through the integration of e-bikes, electric cars, trains or planes.
During National Battery Day, we are paying tribute to the renowned scientists who contributed to the remarkable history of batteries which have been in use since the 19th century.
The first preserved example of a battery was found in Baghdad in 1936 in a Parthinian tomb. It was a clay jar, with a copper cylinder around an iron rod. It was estimated to be over 2000 years old!
During his experiments with electricity in the mid-1700s, Benjamin Franklin coined the word “battery” to refer to charged glass plates. Franklin’s work led to a primitive battery called the Leyden Jar. He actually used the charges generated from the jar to treat paralyzed individuals.
In 1800, Alessandro Volta (1745-1827) created a form of battery called “voltaic plates” that generated electrical current. We get our term “volt” (electric potential) from his name. National Battery Day is celebrated on Volta’s birthday every year!
In 1802, William Cruickshank then designed a battery for mass production. The first rechargeable battery was invented by French physicist Gaston Plant in 1859. Afterward, Columbia, the first commercially available battery, was introduced by the National Carbon company in 1896, birthing the 4D battery created for flashlights two years later.
Improvements in battery technology have been nothing short of amazing. The most-used battery in today’s society is the lithium-ion battery, which can be found in e.g. electric vehicles.
