Lately, lithium-ion batteries have been making the news. Not all of the news has been positive. Recent “hover board” fires and all of the discussions about regulating lithium battery shipping (including FAA regulation speculation) have shined a negative light on lithium-ion batteries.
However, increasing demand for power storage ensures lithium will continue to be the go-to battery solution. Even more importantly, customers need smaller and lighter battery storage for their cell phones, laptops and tablets. Lithium-ion batteries are used in a wide range of industries, making lithium an important power storage tool.
For this reason, it’s important to better understand the benefits of lithium-ion batteries and clear up some of the bad press surrounding this technology.
Lithium-ion batteries are produced by hundreds of manufacturers, and the quality of the battery cells and the batteries themselves varies dramatically. In other words, not all lithium batteries are created equal.
Upon further investigation of recent bad press, it’s apparent that poorly manufactured lithium-ion batteries and cells have created a large part of the problems experienced by customers. In fact, a well-made lithium battery actually improves product performance.
There are multiple lithium-ion battery chemistries, and each one offers a different level of safety. The ability to store power, cycle, charge, discharge and offer peak amps for short bursts of time are other ways battery chemistry varies. Please see the chart below for a quick but concise summary of various lithium technologies:
In installment two of this two-part blog series, you’ll learn about the use of lithium iron phosphate (LifePO4) as an efficient and safe battery chemistry. LifePO4 is now used in a wide range of products and industries, including EVs, RVs, marine, solar, security and telecom to name just a few.
To learn more about how to calculate your energy needs and find the optimal battery for your application and usage, visit our Lithium Battery Selector Tool.