COLUMBUS, Ohio — Battcon, a conference and educational forum for a global audience, will celebrate its 25th anniversary with Battcon 2023, held May 9-12 at the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando, Florida. This year’s conference will include technical deep-dive seminars, presentations on a variety of battery topics, panel discussions with industry experts, breakout sessions on vertical applications, and hands-on demonstrations. The event also features an expo of battery, electrical, tech industry, and educational experts who will share the latest in stationery battery trends with attendees. 

Battcon is an educational event where more than 400 battery users, engineers, and manufacturers learn the latest industry trends and how to apply best practices to the manufacturing, safety, selection, installation, and use of stationary batteries. 

“With the increased adoption of new battery chemistries — as well as a global focus on the circular economy — fire prevention, safety, and recycling have become increasingly important to our industry,” said Curtis Ashton, Battcon technical committee board member and director of training for American Power Systems (a Deka Services subsidiary of East Penn). “Every year at Battcon, the event’s various presentations and panel sessions teach me something new about best practices and applications of battery technologies.”

This year’s agenda includes:

  • Twenty presentations, with experts discussing market conditions, standards and best practices, sourcing, using batteries in extreme ambient conditions, use of different battery chemistries, and other topics. 
  • Seminars on battery fundamentals, beyond fundamentals, and NERC compliance.
  • Panel sessions with battery and engineering experts discussing permanent monitoring versus realistic manual maintenance, 2023 codes and standards updates, and user qualifications of alternate technologies.
  • Breakout sessions on telecommunications, uninterruptible power supply systems, and utility/industrial stationary standby applications.
  • Hands-on presentations on measuring DC float current; measuring internal Ohmic and inter-cell/bloc resistance; the basics of switch-mode rectifiers/chargers; and the basics of Li-ion batteries.

“Batteries are notoriously both the savior and the weak link in any power system. The information shared at this conference gives battery professionals the knowledge to address the weaknesses and improve battery availability and safety,” said Ashton. “Battcon provides a forum for us to discuss issues facing the industry and to share best practices and innovative ideas that will make our jobs easier and our batteries more reliable.”