Week 1 Understanding Different Battery Chemistry
1.
| Type of Li-ion battery | Cathode | Anode | Electrolyte | |
| 1 | Lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) | LiCoO2 | LiC6 | LiPF6 in ethylene carbonate |
| 2 | Lithium manganese oxide (LMO) | LiMn2o4 | Lic6 | Lipf6 in ethylene carbonate |
| 3 | Lithium nickel cobalt aluminium oxide (NCA) | LiNiCoAlO2 | Lic6 | Lipf6 in ethylene carbonate |
| 4 | Lithium nickel Manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) | LiNi0.8Mn0.1Co0.1O2 | Lic6 | Lipf6 in ethylene carbonate |
| 5 | Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) | LiFePO4 | Lic6 | Lipf6 in ethylene carbonate |
| 6 | Lithium titanium oxide (LTO) | LiMn2O4 | Li4Ti5O12 | Lipf6 in ethylene carbonate |
Compare the differences between each type of Li + ion batteries based on their characteristics.
Lithium batteries are more popular today than ever before. You’ll find them in your cell phone, laptop, computer, cordless power tools, and ever electric vehicles. However, just because all of these electronics use lithium batteries doesn’t mean they use the same type of lithium batteries.
We’ll take closer look at six main type of lithium batteries reveals pros and cons, as well as the best applications for each.
What is a lithium battery?
Lithium batteries rely on lithium ions to store energy by creating an electrical potential difference between the negative and positive poles of the battery. An insulating layer called a ‘separator’ divides the two sides of the battery and blocks the electrons while still allowing the lithium ions to pass through.
During the charging phase, lithium ions move from the positive side of the battery to the negative side through the separator. While you discharge the battery, the ions move in the reverse direction.
This movement of lithium ions causes the electrical potential difference mentions before. This electrical potential difference is called “voltage”. When you connect your electronics to a lithium battery, the electrons which are blocked by separator are forced to pass through your devices and power it.
Types of Lithium batteries.
Different types of lithium batteries rely on unique active materials and chemicals reactions to store energy. Each type of lithium battery has its benefits and drawbacks along with it best- suited applications.
The different lithium battery types get their names from their active materials.
- Lithium iron phosphate (LFP)
Lithium iron phosphate batteries use phosphate as the cathode electrode as the anode. LFP batteries have a long-life cycle with good thermal stability and electrochemical performance.
What are they used for:
LFP battery cells have a nominal voltage of 3.2 volts, so connecting four of them in series results in a 12.8 volts battery. This makes LFP batteries the most common type of lithium battery for replacing lead-acid deep-cycle batteries.
Benefits:
There are quit a few benefits to lithium-ion phosphate batteries that make them one of the most popular options for application requiring a large amount of power. The primary benefits, however, are durability, a long-life cycle, and safety.
LFP batteries typically have a lifecycle rating of 2000 cycle or more. Unlike lead-acid batteries, depth of discharge has a minimal impact on the lifespan of LTP batteries. Most LFP batteries at 80% depth of discharging, and some even allow 100% discharging without damaging the battery.
The material used in lithium iron phosphate batteries offer low resistance, making them inherently safe and highly stable. The thermal runaway threshold is about 518 degrees Fahrenheit, making LFP batteries one of the safest lithium battery options, even when fully charged.
Drawbacks:
There are a few drawbacks to LFP batteries. The first is that compared to other lithium battery types, they have a relatively low specific energy. Their performance can also suffer in low temperatures. Combining the low specific energy and reduced performance in cold temperatures means LFP batteries may not be a great fit in some hight cranking applications.
- Lithium cobalt oxide (LCO)
Lithium cobalt oxide batteries have hight specific energy but low specific power. This means that they do not perform well in high-load application, but they can deliver power over a long period.
What are they used for:
LCO batteries were common in small portable electronics such as mobiles phones, tablets, laptops, and cameras. However, they are losing popularity to other types of lithium batteries due to high cost of cobalt and concerns around safety.
Benefits:
The key benefits to LCO batteries is their high specific energy. This allows them to deliver power over a relatively long period under low-load applications.
Drawbacks:
LCO batteries have some significant drawbacks resulting in them becoming less popular in recent years. First, LCO batteries suffer from a relatively short lifespan, usually between 500-1000 cycles. Additionally, cobalt is fairly expensive. Expensive batteries that don’t last a long time are not cost-effective.
LCO batteries also have low thermal stability, which leads to safety concerns. Furthermore, their low specific power limits the ability of LCO batteries to perform in high-load applications.
- Lithium Manganese oxide(LMO)
Lithium manganese oxide batteries use lithium manganese oxide as the cathode material. This chemical creates a three-dimensional structure that improves ion flow, lower internal resistance, and increase current handling while improving thermal stability and safety.
What are they used for:
LMO batteries are commonly found in portable power tools, medical instruments, and some hybrid and electric vehicles.
Benefits:
LMO batteries charge quickly and offer high specific power. This means they can deliver higher current than LCO batteries, for example. They also offer better thermal stability than LCO batteries, meaning they can operate safety at higher temperatures.
One other benefit to LMO batteries is their flexibility. Turning the internal chemistry allow LMO batteries to be optimized to handle high-load applications or long-life applications.
Drawbacks:
The main downside to LMO batteries is their short lifespan. Typically, LMO batteries will last 300-700 charge cycles, significantly fewer than other lithium battery types.
- Lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC)
Lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide batteries combine the benefits of the three main elements used in the cathode: nickel, manganese, and cobalt. Nickel on its own has high specific energy but is not stable. Manganese is exceptionally stable but has a low specific energy. Combining them yields a stable chemistry with a hight specific energy.
What they are used for:
Similar to LMO batteries, NMC batteries are popular in power tools as well as electronic powertrains for e-bike, scooters, and some electric vehicles.
Benefits:
The benefits of NMC batteries include high energy density and a longer lifecycle at a lower cost than cobalt-based batteries. They also have higher thermal stability than LCO batteries, making them safety overall.
Drawbacks:
The major drawback to NMC batteries is that they have a slightly lower voltage than cobalt-based batteries.
- Lithium nickel cobalt aluminium oxide (NCA)
Lithium nickel cobalt aluminium oxide batteries offer high specific energy with decent specific power and a long lifecycle. This means they can deliver a relatively high amount of current for extended periods.
What they are used for:
The ability to perform in high-load applications with a long battery life makes NCA battery popular in the electric vehicles market. Specifically, NCA is the battery of choice for tesla.
Benefits:
The biggest benefits of NCA batteries are high energy and a decent lifespan.
Drawbacks:
With NCA technology, the batteries aren’t as safe as most other lithium technologies and are expensive in comparison.
- Lithium titanate (LTO)
All of the previous lithium battery types we have discussed are unique in the chemical makeup of the cathode material. Lithium titanate batteries replaces the graphite in the anode with lithium titanate and use LMO or NMC as the cathode chemistry.
The result is an extremely safe battery with a long lifespan that charges faster than any other lithium battery type.
What are they used for:
Many applications use LTO batteries electric vehicles and charging stations, uninterrupted power supplies, wind and solar energy storage, solar street lights, telecommunications systems, and aerospace and military equipment are just some of the use cases.
Benefits:
LTO batteries offer many benefits, including fast scharging, an extremely wide operating temperature, a long lifespan, and superb safety because of their stability.
Drawbacks:
There are a couple of significant hurdles for LTO batteries to overcome.They offer low energy density, which means it stores a lower to its weight when compared to some other lithium technologies. Additionally, they are very expansive.