Batteries
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50+ year battery consisting of nickel and iron plates in an electrolyte of Potassium Hydroxide (similar to lye - which I'm guessing you could substitute).
Thomas Edison drove an electric car a hundred years ago. The batteries he used are easy to build and are still operational. Search for 'nickel iron battery', 'edison cell' or 'nife battery'. See http://www.beutilityfree.com/content/ I have a document on how to build one I need to dig up.
Lead acid
Lead acid cells are easy to make too. http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?title=Lead_acid_battery_construction NT 10:42, 19 March 2010 (UTC)
Nickel Iron Batteries
Nickel-iron batteries have 50 year lifetimes, compared to a few-year lifetime of lead acid batteries. They are environmentally more benign, and lend themselves to local recycling and fabrication. They have higher discharge rates and faster charge times than lead-acid batteries, so they lend themselves not only to off-grid power, but also to power electronics applications such as welding and heavy workshop power. Their energy density is half that of lead-acid batteries, but their long lifetime makes them highly relevant to the GVCS, including to electric farming equipment as the next generation of LifeTrac infrastructure.