Sep. 30, 2024
The lithium-ion batteries changing our lives
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Under the supervision of Ryoji Kanno, an Institute Professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology who has been involved in improving battery performance for more than 30 years, this series of articles explores lithium-ion batteries, from what they are to the status of research into the solid-state batteries called the next-generation lithium-ion batteries. Part 2 focuses on the benefits of lithium-ion batteries and the kinds of situations where they are used in our everyday lives. It also explains how to use them so they last longer.
Supervisor: Ryoji Kanno
Institute Professor (Professor Emeritus), Institute of Innovative Research, Tokyo Institute of Technology
In , he completed his master&#;s degree in inorganic and physical chemistry at the Graduate School of Science, Osaka University. In , he became a Doctor of Science. After working as an associate professor in the Faculty of Science at Kobe University, he became a professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Science and Engineering in . In , he became a professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology School of Materials and Chemical Technology. In , he became a professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology Institute of Innovative Research and a leader in the All-Solid-State Battery Unit. In , he became an Institute Professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology Institute of Innovative Research and director of the Research Center for All-Solid-State Battery.
Lithium-ion batteries have many advantages in terms of safety and functionality compared to other batteries such as lead-acid batteries. The key benefits include:
Benefits of lithium-ion batteriesSecondary batteries that can be recharged and used repeatedly like lithium-ion batteries include nickel-metal hydride batteries and nickel-cadmium batteries in addition to lead-acid batteries. The most obvious advantage of lithium-ion batteries compared to these batteries is that they are small and light, and yet powerful.
Comparing the characteristics of these batteries at the same size, the maximum voltages they can produce are 2.1V for lead-acid batteries, 1.2V for nickel-metal hydride batteries, and 1.25V for nickel-cadmium batteries. Lithium-ion batteries, on the other hand, can produce voltages as high as 3.2 to 3.7V.
Lithium-ion batteries do not utilize chemical reactions like other secondary batteries when making electricity. Therefore, compared to other secondary batteries, their electrodes deteriorate less, allowing them to stand up very well to repeated charging and discharging.
A major feature of lithium-ion batteries is that they can be charged quickly. But fast charging, or charging done in a short time, is something that secondary batteries other than lithium-ion batteries can also do. However, with nickel-metal hydride batteries and nickel-cadmium batteries, it was difficult to determine when charging was finished, so fast charging was not put to practical use. Fast charging of lithium-ion batteries has been implemented because the charger can determine when charging is finished.
Wireless charging, or charging without a charging cable, is also possible with secondary batteries other than lithium-ion batteries, just like fast charging. However, since wireless charging technology was established in , making it a relatively new technology, it was adopted for lithium-ion batteries, which were already expected to become widespread. Research is being conducted into a system that will make it possible in the future to charge electric vehicles simply by parking them in a parking lot.
Batteries display a phenomenon called &#;self-discharge,&#; the natural discharge of a battery even when it is not in use. For example, if you want to start the engine of a car that has not been driven for more than a month, you may not be able to turn the starter over because of low voltage. This so-called &#;dead battery&#; condition is caused by self-discharge.
Self-discharge occurs when a chemical reaction progresses little by little even when a battery is just left in inactive storage. This is why lithium-ion batteries, which use a slightly different reaction from the battery reaction that occurs in other secondary batteries, hardly self-discharge at all.
By the way, in the case of smartphones and PCs equipped with lithium-ion batteries, the battery may run down even when the device is not used. In this case, it is because the device is not completely turned off and is consuming a small amount of electricity even though the screen is off, so that it can start up immediately.
There are many tools around us that run on electricity. Taking advantage of the benefit that they are small and powerful, lithium-ion batteries are incorporated into a variety of devices. In particular, products such as smartphones, PCs, and digital cameras became smaller, lighter, and longer lasting after they started using lithium-ion batteries.
Electric vehicles were initially equipped with nickel-metal hydride batteries. However, they now use lithium-ion batteries because of their benefits in being powerful and having low self-discharge and because they do not suffer from the non-user-friendly inability to allow top-up charging like nickel-metal hydride batteries.
Lithium-ion batteries are also used for small home appliances such as cordless vacuum cleaners and irons, vehicles such as electric bicycles and electric motorcycles, and applications such as storing electricity generated during the day using a solar power generation system at home.
In industrial fields, lithium-ion batteries are used to cordlessly operate machines such as robots and drones. There are also a wide range of other industrial fields where lithium-ion batteries are utilized, such as for IoT sensors installed in various locations and special vehicles such as submarines and rockets.
On the other hand, lithium-ion batteries, too, have limited energy density, which limits their use when more power is required. For example, today&#;s lithium-ion batteries can be used as the energy source to drive the motors in electric vehicles, but it is still technologically too difficult to fly large airplanes on the energy of lithium-ion batteries. However, people are developing new vehicles such as &#;flying cars&#; that use lithium-ion batteries. There are still many possibilities left even if we just investigate thoroughly the performance potential of current lithium-ion batteries.
Just as lithium-ion batteries have different characteristics from other batteries, they will last longer if you use them with an understanding of their characteristics. Understand the points and features of charging to maintain performance.
One of the features of lithium-ion batteries is their user friendliness. For example, with nickel-metal hydride batteries and nickel-cadmium batteries, if you try to add charge while capacity remains, the battery may not appear to be charged more than that remaining capacity. This is called the &#;memory effect,&#; and it basically does not happen with lithium-ion batteries.
To prevent the memory effect in nickel-metal hydride batteries and nickel-cadmium batteries, it is recommended to charge them after using up all the electricity. Lithium-ion batteries, in contrast, can be said to be more user-friendly because you can top up their charge before running them down completely.
Devices that use lithium-ion batteries, such as smartphones and laptops, use circuits that do not allow charging beyond the battery&#;s capacity even if the battery is used while always charged. So, there is no worry that the battery will be overburdened, but if you want a lithium-ion battery to last longer, it is best to continue using it while charged up to about 50% and connected to a power supply. Some laptops can be set to not charge more than 50%.
Conversely, the thing to avoid with lithium-ion batteries is using a device while maintaining a 100% charged state. If you continue to use a fully charged laptop while it is connected to a power supply, it will shorten the battery life.
On the other hand, leaving a device in inactive storage in an over-discharged state where almost all the electricity is used up can also shorten the life of lithium-ion batteries. In other words, avoid use in the extreme states of being overcharged and over-discharged. This is similar to the way exercising in a state of fullness or hunger puts an undue burden on the body.
To get stable performance out of lithium-ion batteries, it is best to use them at room temperature. You may have heard the rumor that they will last longer when cooled, but this is counterproductive because the battery&#;s resistance value increases at low temperatures, increasing the load for charging and discharging. Moreover, cooling may cause condensation on the battery, and the circuits around the battery may short-circuit.
Lithium-ion batteries have various advantages, but it must be said that it is important to use them in ways that make the most of those advantages in order to get good performance for a long time.
Powering today&#;s technology Many consumer products on the market today tout their lithium batteries as a selling feature. Is this an actual selling point? Are lithium-powered products really better than those that run on other battery types? The short answer to both questions is, yes, lithium batteries offer major advantages over other battery types with [&#;]
Many consumer products on the market today tout their lithium batteries as a selling feature. Is this an actual selling point? Are lithium-powered products really better than those that run on other battery types? The short answer to both questions is, yes, lithium batteries offer major advantages over other battery types with very few drawbacks. Here, we&#;ll look at the advantages and disadvantages of lithium batteries, as well as examine a few types of products that have been improved by incorporating lithium technology.
Basically, a lithium battery is one that uses lithium ions as a key component of its electrochemistry. In a lithium battery, lithium atoms are ionized and separated from their electrons. The lithium ions then move from the anode through an electrolyte until they reach a cathode, where they reassemble with their electrons.
One of the greatest advantages of lithium batteries is that they have much higher energy density than other rechargeable battery technologies. Energy density is the amount of energy stored in a given volume or weight, and it&#;s usually expressed as Wh/kg (watt hours per kilogram). Lithium ion batteries in use today have the highest energy density of any battery technology, usually ranging from 100-265 Wh/kg.[1] Some of the newest lithium EV batteries in development have an even higher energy density of up to 315 Wh/kg and can recharge up to 80% in just 10 minutes.[2] In comparison, lead acid batteries have an energy density ranging from 30-50 Wh/kg, Ni-Cd batteries boast an energy density of 45-80 , and Ni-MH batteries have an energy density of 60-120 Wh/kg.[3]
Due to their higher energy density, lithium ion batteries are lighter and more compact than other battery types. In fact, they make much of today&#;s technology feasible. Imagine if smartphones weighed 10 lbs. (4.5 kg) instead of the 6.07 oz. (172 g) weight of the iPhone 14.[4] Would they be as ubiquitous as they are now? Without small, lightweight lithium batteries everyone&#;s life would look very different. So, if you&#;ve ever slipped a battery-powered device into a pocket, purse, backpack, or glove box, this was largely made possible by the development of lithium ion batteries.
Lithium ion battery technology is also advantageous for high-power applications, where a battery needs to deliver large amounts of current, such as jump starting a vehicle. Lithium ion batteries deliver up to 3.6 volts, which in comparison is three times higher than the voltage delivered by Ni-Cd or Ni-MH batteries.[5]
If you want a device that will recharge quickly and hold a charge for months or years, then look for one powered by a lithium battery. The chemistry of lithium ion batteries allows them to accept current at a faster rate, allowing them to charge much faster than other battery types.[6] For example, charging a lead acid battery might take more than 10 hours where, depending on the battery&#;s size, a lithium battery can recharge in three hours or even a few minutes.
All battery types will lose charge or self-discharge over time. However, lithium ion batteries have an extremely low discharge rate of only 1.5% to 2% a month. In comparison, lead acid batteries lose about 5% of their charge in a month and nickel-based batteries will lose 10% to 15% of their charge in the first 24 hours and then 10% to 15% a month after that.[7] Practically, this means that if you charge a lithium battery pack and then store it in a drawer for the next year, at the end of the year the battery pack will retain between 76% and 82% of its full charge.
Battery lifespans can vary greatly although all batteries will degrade over time and lose effectiveness as they age. Usually measured by battery cycles, lifespans or cycle life are the number of complete charges and discharges a battery can experience before it will no longer hold a charge.[8] Therefore, discharging a battery to 50% and then recharging it to 100% would only count as half of a battery cycle. For example, consider a boat battery. If you compare an SLA battery (a type of lead acid battery often used in boats) to a lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery you will get a greatly different total number of charge cycles. The difference in chemistry between the SLA and LiFePO4 battery will result in the SLA battery lasting between 50 and 500 cycles, while the LiFePO4 battery will last from 1,000 to 10,000 cycles.[9] Many affordable lithium ion batteries used in consumer products ranging from flashlights to speakers will deliver at least 300 to 500 full discharge/charge cycles before the battery&#;s capacity drops below 80%.[10]
Also extending the lifespan in lithium batteries is the lack of memory effect. Nickel-based rechargeable batteries, for example, will gradually lose their capacity to store energy if they are only partially discharged. The &#;memory&#; of the partial discharge reduces the capacity of future chargers and thus negatively impacts battery lifespan.
Lithium batteries also hold the advantage for depth of discharge, which is the percentage of the battery charge that can be safely drained without causing damage to the battery.[11] Lithium batteries can be safely discharged of 85% of their total capacity, while lead acid batteries can&#;t be discharged past 50% without negatively impacting the battery&#;s lifespan.[12]
All these factors combined can easily give a lithium battery a lifespan of 10-15 years vs. 3 to 12 years for a lead acid battery.[13]
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Despite all the advantages lithium batteries possess, they do have a couple of significant drawbacks, namely the increased fire risk and their greater cost.
Because lithium batteries simply contain more energy, they also have more energy to release when something goes wrong. In fact, the higher a battery&#;s energy density, the more dangerous it has the potential to be.
One of the largest risks of lithium ion batteries is their susceptibility to thermal runaway. In thermal runaway the lithium battery begins an uncontrollable self-heating state, which can result in extremely high temperatures, fire, and even explosion.[14] Depending on a lithium battery&#;s chemistry, some are more dangerous than others. For example, lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries are less likely to overheat than other lithium battery chemistries.[15]
Compounding the threat posed by a thermal runaway reaction, the liquid electrolytes used in lithium batteries are highly volatile and increase the risk of fire. That&#;s why most lithium batteries include built-in safety features and self-imposed limits on just how energy dense they can be.
The other major drawback to lithium batteries is a higher up-front cost than lead acid and other battery types. However, the cost advantages for other battery types can disappear when usage patterns and battery lifespans are factored in
Lead acid batteries were first developed in and have enjoyed more than 160 years of popularity since.[16] The first viable lithium ion battery was patented more than a century later in .[17] Since the first lithium battery was introduced sales have taken off and lithium batteries have made themselves indispensable to our daily lives. They power our smartphones, laptops, and even our homes. In addition, each year sees improvements to their efficiency, lifespan, and safety, while seeing a decrease in their associated costs. Today&#;s lithium batteries are superior in almost every way to other commercially available battery types. With this in mind, why would you choose any other battery?
The beloved host of Pistons and PixieDust, Faye Hadley, walks her viewers through jump starting a vehicle using a Schumacher Rugged Lithium portable jump starter. Faye shows viewers how to diagnose a dead battery, how to prevent damage from a reversed connection, and how to choose the right portable jump starter for your needs. Then she demonstrates a successful jump start of a Toyota Hiace diesel 5-speed, four-wheel drive camper.
For superior power, lifespan, and fast recharging, in a lightweight, compact package, look for lithium-powered consumer products. Here are a few of our top picks.
Lithium Portable Power Pack and 800A 12V Jump Starter
Buy NowRugged Lithium Portable Power / A Jump Starter
Buy Now330Wh Portable Lithium Generator
Buy Now[1] &#;Lithium-Ion Battery,&#; Clean Energy Institute, University of Washington, https://www.cei.washington.edu/education/science-of-solar/battery-technology/, Accessed 29 March .
[2] Kennedy, Ryan, &#;EV battery has 50% more energy density than traditional lithium-ion, 10-minute charge,&#; PV Magazine, https://pv-magazine-usa.com//02/08/ev-battery-has-50-more-energy-density-than-lithium-ion-10-minute-charge/, Accessed 29 March .
[3] &#;Battery Cell Comparison,&#; epec Engineered Technologies, https://www.epectec.com/batteries/cell-comparison.html, Accessed 29 March .
[4] &#;iPhone 14,&#; Apple Inc., https://www.apple.com/iphone-14/specs/, Accessed 30 March .
[5] &#;Lithium-Ion Battery,&#; Clean Energy Institute, University of Washington, https://www.cei.washington.edu/education/science-of-solar/battery-technology/, Accessed 29 March .
[6] &#;Spot the Difference: Lithium Ion Versus Lead Acid Battery Electric Technology,&#; Cummins Inc., https://www.cummins.com/news//06/17/spot-difference-lithium-ion-versus-lead-acid-battery-electric-technology, Accessed 30 March .
[7] &#;BU-802b: What does Elevated Self-discharge Do?,&#; Battery University, https://batteryuniversity.com/article/bu-802b-what-does-elevated-self-discharge-do, Accessed 30 March .
[8] Veldboom, Bryan, &#;How Do Battery Charging Cycles Work?,&#; Batteries Plus, https://www.batteriesplus.com/blog/power/battery-discharge-cycle, Accessed 30 March .
[9] Veldboom, Bryan, &#;How Do Battery Charging Cycles Work?,&#; Batteries Plus, https://www.batteriesplus.com/blog/power/battery-discharge-cycle, Accessed 30 March .
[10] &#;BU-801b: How to Define Battery Life,&#; Battery University, https://batteryuniversity.com/article/bu-801b-how-to-define-battery-life, Accessed 30 March .
[11] &#;Lead-acid vs lithium-ion battery comparison,&#; Energy Sage, https://news.energysage.com/lithium-ion-vs-lead-acid-batteries/, Accessed 30 March .
[12] &#;Lead-acid vs lithium-ion battery comparison,&#; Energy Sage, https://news.energysage.com/lithium-ion-vs-lead-acid-batteries/, Accessed 30 March .
[13] &#;Lead-acid vs lithium-ion battery comparison,&#; Energy Sage, https://news.energysage.com/lithium-ion-vs-lead-acid-batteries/, Accessed 30 March .
[14] &#;What Causes Thermal Runaway, Electrochemical Safety Research Institute, UL Research Institutes, https://ul.org/research/electrochemical-safety/getting-started-electrochemical-safety/what-causes-thermal, Accessed 30 March .
[15] Murphy Kelly, Samantha, &#;Lithium-ion battery fires are happening more often. Here&#;s how to prevent them,&#; CNN Business, https://www.cnn.com//03/09/tech/lithium-ion-battery-fires/index.html, Accessed 30 March .
[16] &#;Can the Lead-acid Battery Compete in Modern Times?,&#; Battery University, https://batteryuniversity.com/article/can-the-lead-acid-battery-compete-in-modern-times, Accessed 30 March .
[17] &#;John B. Goodenough,&#; Fuergy, https://www.fuergy.com/blog/john-b-goodenough-the-inventor-of-the-li-ion-battery, Accessed 30 March .
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