Despite lead-acid production facilities being quite appealing in terms of scale, cost, and recycling; low energy density positions the lead-acid battery at the bottom of the Ragone plot of electrochemical systems. Several industrial and academic research efforts are continuing for the past few decades for tapping its storage capacity by developing bipolar lead-acid batteries. However, bipolar architecture demands a lightweight bipolar substrate with excellent co. Despite lead-acid production facilities being quite appealing in terms of scale, cost, and recycling; low energy density positions the lead-acid battery at the bottom of the Ragone plot of electrochemical systems. Several industrial and academic research efforts are continuing for the past few decades for tapping its storage capacity by developing bipolar lead-acid batteries. However, bipolar architecture demands a lightweight bipolar substrate with excellent corrosion resistance and structural stability, which thereby presents challenges, namely leak-proof sealing and active paste adherence. Unresolved challenges are the reasons for the confinement of the bipolar lead-acid batteries to laboratory curiosity or laboratory prototypes for the past few decades. However, recently few inventors are successfully leading the way to overcome the age-old hurdles of technical challenges, commercial production, and long battery life. This article highlights recent advances as well as past inventions of bipolar lead-acid battery with respect to substrate material, designs, and sealing techniques.••••Advances in technologies of bipolar lead-acid batteries over the years.••Potential advanced materials for bipolar substrates.••Novel fabrication techniques for bipolar lead-acid batteries.••Future of bipolar lead-acid batteries.Energy storageLead-acid batteryBipolar substrateNovel electrode designABSAcrylonitrile Butadiene styreneBMPBarium metaplumbateECMEElectrically conductive multi-layered electrodeHEVHybrid electric vehicleNAMNegative active materialPAMAmong the category of lead-acid batteries, bipolar lead-acid battery technology has always been a head-scratching territory; nevertheless, researchers have often attempted to acquire the opportunity which bipolar lead-acid battery technology offers. This review discusses technical progress, mass production difficulties and electrochemical traits of bipolar lead-acid batteries feasibly suitable for several operations. We have briefly reviewed different bipolar lead-acid batteries; describing their assembly structure, material composition and relative merits along with demerits. This study covers a wide range of bipolar battery designs considered mostly in many patents and industrial published research papers over the years.The list of references for lead-acid batteries is quite broad considering its long past. The development and progress of lead-acid batteries have been quite exemplary since Planté's discovery in 1859. The specific energy of the first lead-acid battery prototype built by Plantè was 9 Wh kg−1. Today, the average value is around 33 Wh kg−1. The 1970′s world record of 70.5 Wh kg−1 still exists in the name of YUASA although it exhibited a very brief cycle life. Inadequate utilization of the active mass results in low specific energy value. Generally, discharge current, active mass thickness, the average path travelled by electrons from active mass to electron collector (i.e. grid), and active mass str.