Battery-Grade Sulphuric Acid
Low-metal electrolyte acid, 1.25–1.28 SG and 98% concentrate
Battery-grade acid is defined by what is absent from it. A lead-acid cell tolerates almost no iron, manganese, copper, chloride, nitrate or organic matter, because each of them either self-discharges the plates or corrodes the grids, so the specification is a list of parts-per-million maxima far tighter than technical grade: iron below 5 ppm, manganese below 0.2 ppm, copper below 1 ppm, chloride below 5 ppm, nitrate below 2 ppm, with colour and residue on ignition close to nil. The acid is sold either as 98% concentrate for buyers who dilute in-house with demineralised water, or ready-diluted electrolyte at a nominated specific gravity, usually 1.25 to 1.28 at 20 °C, which is what most assemblers and reconditioners actually want. Strength is easy; purity is what you are paying for, and the only acid that reliably meets it is sulphur-burnt product from a plant with stainless or glass-lined storage.
Buy battery grade rather than technical when the acid fills or tops up a lead-acid battery: automotive and motorcycle battery assembly, industrial traction and stationary batteries, UPS and solar storage, and battery reconditioning and distribution. Everything else in the plant, cleaning, effluent, pH control, can run on technical grade at a fraction of the price. The packaging follows the buyer: 30 kg and 35 kg HDPE jerrycans and 200 kg drums for distributors and reconditioners, 1,000 litre IBCs for assemblers, ISO tanks and bulk for battery plants with their own storage. CBIL brokers battery-grade concentrate and diluted electrolyte from sulphur-burning plants in the Gulf, India and East Asia against independent certification of the full trace-metal panel, chloride, nitrate and specific gravity, packed to the buyer's format, on FOB, CFR and CIF terms.
Indicative reference
$220–420 USD / MT
as at September 2026
Reference level only — not an offer, and reviewed quarterly. Levels shown are as at September 2026. Firm pricing is quoted per RFQ, subject to volume, terms and inspection.
Typical Specification
Specifications are indicative and adjusted to the agreed contract and destination requirements. Final spec confirmed on COA / SGS.
Available Grades
Applications
- Automotive & motorcycle battery assembly
- Industrial traction & stationary batteries
- UPS & solar storage batteries
- Battery reconditioning & distribution
Category
Petroleum & Energy
Incoterms
FOB · CFR · CIF
Pricing basis
USD / MT
Inspection
SGS / Intertek at load port
Battery-Grade Sulphuric Acid — buyer questions
Concentrate or ready-diluted electrolyte?
Concentrate if you have demineralised water and mixing tanks: you pay freight on a third of the water and dilute to whatever gravity each battery line needs. Ready electrolyte at 1.25 or 1.28 SG if you are an assembler or reconditioner without that plant, or if the volumes are small enough that the freight saving does not cover the cost of a mixing installation. Diluting with tap water is the single most common way battery acid gets ruined; do not do it.
Which specific gravity should I ask for?
1.25 SG for most automotive batteries in temperate markets, 1.28 for higher-capacity and colder-climate use, and lower gravities around 1.21–1.24 for hot tropical markets where a strong electrolyte shortens plate life. Your battery design decides it. Tell us the market and the battery type and we will nominate the gravity rather than guessing.
What makes an acid fail battery grade?
Metals and halides in parts per million. Iron and manganese cause self-discharge, copper plates out on the negative and shorts the cell, chloride attacks the positive grid and nitrate corrodes both. Technical-grade acid that is 98% pure by strength can fail every one of these limits, which is why battery grade must come from a sulphur-burning plant with clean storage, and why the trace panel is certified at load rather than taken from a typical datasheet.
How is battery acid packed for export?
By buyer. Distributors take 30 or 35 kg HDPE jerrycans palletised in a container, reconditioners often prefer 200 kg drums, assemblers take 1,000 litre IBCs, and battery plants with acid storage take ISO tanks or bulk. All of it moves as UN 2796 (electrolyte) or UN 1830 (concentrate), Class 8, so the packaging has to be UN-certified and the container declared, which we arrange with the packer and the line.
Ready to source Battery Acid?
Send your quantity, specification, preferred Incoterms and destination port. We'll verify supply and respond with a workable offer — usually within one business day.
Have Battery Acid to sell? Submit an offer — we'll match it against live buyer demand.