Lead

Lead is a soft, malleable, ductile, dense metallic element, extracted primarily from the mineral galena and found in ore that also contains zinc, silver and copper. The chemical properties of lead allow this element to be used mainly in power storage and delivery applications

The primary use of lead is in lead-acid batteries for motor vehicles. Lead acid batteries are the mainstay of storage technologies for renewable energy sources, such as solar cell and wind turbines and are used to power cars, trucks, buses, motorbikes, electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles. Furthermore, lead acid batteries are vital as a back-up emergency power supply in case of mains power failure in hospitals, telephone exchanges, mobile phone networks, public buildings and for the emergency services.