The production of vehicles utilizing 36 V battery systems has begun with the introduction of the Toyota Crown. Other vehicles with 36 V batteries are in the near horizon. These vehicles may contain single or dual battery systems. These vehicles will most likely contain valve-regulated lead-acid (VRLA) batteries. The battery systems developed to date utilize significantly more lead than conventional 12 V batteries.This paper will evaluate the different proposed 36 V battery systems and estimate the lead requirements for each of the competing systems. It will also project the penetration of and resultant increased lead usage of these new batteries into the future. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.