 The modern gel formulation was invented by Otto Jache's and Heinz Schroeder's assigned to the German company Accumulatorenfabrik Sonnenschein.With gel electrolyte used as the separator, it was no longer such a critical and difficult to make component, as a result, the cycle life was increased, sometimes drastically, along with a reduction of the active material being shedded from the plates.Gas recombination is used to make this type of battery without the requirement to occasionally add water to them in order to maintain the strength of the electrolyte, and are therefore referred to as maintenance free batteries.