Battery Maximizer is an intelligent, non-intrusive device that clips on the terminals of a rechargeable battery and tells the user its Remaining Battery Life (RBL) by an inbuilt impedance analyzer that continually evaluates the battery’s internal chemistry. It provides consumers with accurate information regarding expected battery lifetime. It reduces the chances of unforeseen battery failure and the numbers of batteries that are prematurely discarded before they fail. As a result, the demand for battery production and correspondingly disposal can be under much better control.

Australia imports annually 7.6 million automotive and industrial battery units and at the same time 6.9 million units are disposed of. Among the disposed batteries, it is estimated that 20% end up in landfills while 33% are stockpiled. Batteries are necessary sources for mobile, remote power and standby energy. They are also the only practical means of storing renewable energies. However, serious environmental impacts of automotive and industrial batteries are incurred in the production, distribution and disposal phases of the battery life cycle as batteries contain heavy metals and toxic chemicals that threaten both the environment and human life. Battery Maximizer is aimed to save at least 25% of the environmental waste and energy consumption relating to the production, transportation, replacement and disposal of batteries. This figure is based on the estimation that battery replacement is conservatively scheduled at least 25% before the battery manufacturer stated end of life.

Batteries are expensive due to the costs of removing toxic materials during their production and disposal. Premature replacement of batteries is an unnecessary cost to the end-user. Conversely, waiting for a battery to die before replacement could mean potentially expensive and unsafe outage and downtime. Premature disposal and replacement of batteries also means that more batteries than necessary are produced, transported and discarded. Classified as a hazardous waste, this causes a high environmental impact. The production of batteries is an energy intensive, hazardous and polluting process. Moreover, transportation of large stocks of batteries to warehouses, retail outlets, service points and ultimately the end-user consumes large amounts of carbon based fuels. The replacement of batteries in cases such as roadside support further increases the carbon footprint of the whole process. The disposal of batteries in either landfills or by recycling presents a significant environmental risk. The storage of batteries also requires extra safety protection and care to prevent the leakage of toxic materials.

As far as has been researched, there are no other products on the market that claim to be able to accurately predict RBL. While companies have developed battery chargers that claim to extend battery life, there have been none that measure the battery’s lifespan itself. While extending battery life by chargers is useful, not knowing the batteries lifespan will still result in wastage.

Battery Maximizer is destined to reduce premature disposal of batteries, save battery expenditure and reduce the carbon footprint of batteries in a substantial way.