Week 1 Understanding Different Battery Chemistry

• Lithium-Ion or Li-Ion batteries are a type of rechargeable battery that's used in many applications, but most commonly in the electronics industry. Li-Ion batteries provide portable electricity, powering electronic gadgets such as mobile phones, laptops, and tablets

The 6 commonly used lithium ion batteries are listed below.

• Lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) - LCO.
• Lithium Manganese oxide (LiMn2O4) - LMO.
• Lithium Nickel Manganese cobalt oxide (liNiMnCoO2) - NMC.
• Lithium Iron phosphate (LiFePO4) - LFP.
• Lithium Nickel Cobalt Aluminium Oxide (LiNiCoAlO2) - NCA.
• Lithium Titanate (Li2TiO3) - LTO.

Each Lithium ion batteries provides different characteristics and are used in different applications accordingly.

LCO stands for Lithium cobalt battery.

• Lithium cobalt oxide is one of the most common Lithium-ions, it has a chemical symbol which is LiCoO2, and is abbreviated as LCO. Cobalt is the core active material that defines the character of the battery

A lithium-ion manganese oxide battery (LMO)

• Is a lithium-ion cell that uses manganese dioxide, MnO. ₂, as the cathode material. They function through the same intercalation/de-intercalation mechanism as other commercialized secondary battery technologies, such as LiCoO

The lithium nickel cobalt aluminium oxides (NCA)

• Are a group of substances comprising metal oxides. Some of them are important due to their application in lithium ion batteries. NCAs are used as active material on the positive pole (which is the cathode when the battery is discharged)

Lithium-Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt-Oxide (LiNiMnCoO2), abbreviated as NMC, has become the go-to cathode powder to develop batteries for power tools, e-bikes and other electric powertrains. While NMC powder can refer to a variety of blends, the formula typically consists of 33% nickel, 33% manganese and 33% cobalt

The lithium iron phosphate battery or LFP battery is a type of lithium-ion battery using lithium iron phosphate as the cathode material, and a graphitic carbon electrode with a metallic backing as the anode

The lithium-titanate-oxide (LTO) battery

• Is a type of rechargeable battery that has the advantage of being faster to charge than other lithium-ion batteries, but the disadvantage of having a much lower energy density.

2. Compare the differences between each type of Li+ion batteries based on their characteristics

The Major 6 types of lithium ion batteries was discussed early, Now the major differences in the characteristics can be found when choosing a battery. The major things that can be differenciated from one another.

• Nominal voltage : It is the system voltage at which the device is designed to operate. The rated voltage is usually higher than the nominal voltage to ensure the safe operation of the device.
• Cycle : The charge and discharge when took place for a single time makes a cycle. The higher the cycles can take place, the higher the cycles can takes place then the lifespan is higher.
• Thermal runway : The thermal runway begins when the heat generated within a battery exceeds the amount of heat that is dissipated to its surroundings.Internal battery temperature will continue to rise, causing the battery current to rise creating a domino effect. The rise in temperature in a single battery will begin to affect other batteries nearby and the pattern will continue.
• Specific energy : It is the amount of energy stored per unit mass (Wh/Kg). This is a very important deciding factor that decides how much energy or power from different batteries with the same amount of weight.

For ease of choosing a battery from laymans perspective, the 6 key features are given a value within 0-5 range for all of the, are given with the same parameters which are considered in case of 5 point hexagonal analysis of the batteries. They are

1. Specific energy.
2. Specific power.
3. Safety.
4. Performance.
5. Life span.
6. Cost.

LCO :

Li-cobalt excels on high specific energy but offers only moderate performance-specific power, safety and life span.

LMO :

Although moderate in overall performance, newer designs of Li-manganese offer improvements in specific power, safety and life span.

NMC :

NMC has good overall performance and excels on specific energy. This battery is the preferred candidate for the electric vehicle and has the lowest self-heating rate.

LFP :

Li-phosphate has excellent safety and a long life span but moderate specific energy and elevated self-discharge.

NCA :

High energy and power densities as well as a good life span make NCA a candidate for EV powertrains. High cost and marginal safety are negative.

LTO :

Li-titanate excels in safety, low-temperature performance, and life span. Efforts are being made to improve the specific energy and lower the cost.