Electrodes 0.5mm thick (i.e. much thinner than conventional ones) and suitable for lead-acid batteries were prepared by using a special pasting procedure that allows plate thickness to be readily controlled. Novel rolled grids of Pb-Sn-low Ca alloys (0.35mm thick) were used as substrates. Preliminary galvanostatic corrosion tests of the grids revealed an increased corrosion rate relative to conventional casted grids of Pb-Sn alloys (1mm thick). Cells made with these thin electrodes were cycled under different discharge regimes and the active material at different charge/discharge cycling stages was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and chemical analysis. At a depth of discharge (DOD) of 100%, the cell exhibited a premature capacity loss after the fifth cycle and delivered only a 20% of its nominal capacity after the 10th. By contrast, cycling performance of the electrode was significantly improved at a DOD of 60%. The capacity loss observed at a DOD of 100% can be ascribed to a rapid growth of PbSO 4 crystals reaching several microns in size. Such large crystals tend to deposit onto the grid surface and form an insulating layer that hinders electron transfer at the active material/grid interface. For this reason, the cell fails after few cycles in spite of the high PbO 2 content in the positive active material (PAM). On the other hand, at 60% DOD the submicronic particles produced after formation of the PAM retain their small size, thereby ensuring reversibility in the PbO 2 PbSO 4 transformation.