Reticulated, open-cell structures based on vitreous carbon substrates electroplated with a Pb–Sn (1wt.%) alloy were investigated as current collectors for lead–acid batteries. Scanning and backscattered electron microscopy, cyclic voltammetry, anodic polarization and flooded 2V single-cell battery testing was employed to characterize the performance of the proposed collectors. A battery equipped with pasted electroplated reticulated vitreous carbon (RVC) electrodes of 137cm2 geometric area, at the time of manuscript submission, completed 500cycles and over 1500h of continuous operation. The cycling involved discharges at 63AkgPAM −1 corresponding to a nominal 0.75h rate and a positive active mass (PAM) utilization efficiency of 21%. The charging protocol was composed of two voltage limited (i.e. 2.6V/cell), constant current steps of 35 and 9.5AkgPAM −1, respectively, with a total duration of about 2h. The charge factor was 1.05–1.15. The observed cycling behavior in conjunction with the versatility of electrodeposition to produce application-dependent optimized lead alloy coating thickness and composition shows promise for the development of lead–acid batteries using electroplated reticulated vitreous carbon collectors.