Work over the past year on zinc and lead battery technologies included: Developed a method to make advanced zinc fibers for higher performance zinc electrodes; Completed preliminary lab scale work to evaluate the use of zinc air batteries for large scale energy storage; Initiated joint research on better air cathode design; Initiated commercial trials to evaluate advanced lead grid designs and manufacturing methods for batteries used in hybrid vehicles; Established a demonstration facility for building batteries using advanced manufacturing methods in order to greatly reduce the potential for human exposure and reduce overall waste and energy usage for the battery industry.