Abstract The effect of previous charge and discharge history on the capacity of Plante electrodes has been investigated. It is shown that the capacity level attained in cycling experiments depends on charge current density, overcharge and discharge current density of the preceding discharges, as well as on the relaxation after charge. As will become evident, the different effects observed for changes in charge and discharge parameters are closely related to the solid-state properties of PbO 2−δ . An aggregate-of-spheres model has been developed to explain the various phenomena.