Shift from short-term to long-term storage - What is a lithium-ion battery?

In contrast to the public perception that lead-acid batteries are already very old technology, lithium-ion batteries offer a more modern, cleaner, longer cycle life and higher energy density. In recent years, lithium-ion batteries, which have received the most attention from the global industry, have attracted more and more attention in our daily life. That's because smart phones, personal computers, and even transportation vehicles like electric bikes and cars all rely on electricity to power them. The evolution of battery performance, then, plays an important role in improving the ease of use of these tools.

1.What is a lithium-ion battery?
In the context of everyday household appliances, lithium-ion batteries refer to the rechargeable batteries built into electronic devices such as smart phones and laptops. Initially, the original battery model originated in the late 18th century, after more than 200 years of development and precipitation, a variety of energy storage devices are also emerging. Lithium-ion batteries are one of the more impressive ones.

Generally speaking, batteries are divided into primary batteries, which can only be used once, and secondary batteries, which can be recharged multiple times. Obviously, the lithium-ion battery that gets the attention is the secondary battery that can be used for multiple charges. In addition, compared with the same secondary battery, it also has the good characteristics of small weight, high energy storage.

2.How do lithium-ion batteries generate electricity?
In the basic characteristics of electrochemical storage, although there are various battery types, the basic working principle of battery power generation is actually different.

The battery is filled with an ion-conducting electrolyte between the positive and negative electrodes of a metal material, which is melted by the electrolyte and divided into ions and electrons. When an electron moves from the negative to the positive, an electric current is generated, and this is how electricity is generated. A secondary battery is an extra step, storing electrons in the negative terminal by charging the battery before it is used. When a battery is used, the stored electrons move towards the positive terminal to produce electricity.

Why do lithium batteries have good characteristics? Lithium ions are predisposed to use lithium-containing metal compounds in the positive electrode and carbon, such as graphite, which can absorb lithium, in the negative electrode. This structure enables lithium-ion batteries to generate electricity without having to melt the electrodes from the electrolyte as traditional batteries do. This slows down the aging of the battery itself, allowing it to not only store more power, but also greatly increase the number of times it can be charged and discharged. In addition, lithium is a very small and light substance, from the machine lithium battery can be seen its small light weight and so on.

3.Different subdivisions of lithium ion batteries
Lithium-ion batteries fall into different categories according to the metal used in the positive electrode. Cobalt was the original technical material used in the positive electrode of lithium-ion batteries. The limiting factor is that cobalt, like lithium, is a rare metal that is expensive to make. Therefore, it is more appropriate to develop cheap materials with low environmental load, including manganese, nickel, iron and other metals.

Lithium ion battery types Voltage DOD Pros and cons
Cobalt lithium ion battery 3.7V 500-1000times -It is widely used as the standard lithium-ion battery
-Expensive and not used for vehicle use
Manganese lithium ion battery 3.7V 300-700 times -High security
-It can charge and discharge quickly
Iron phosphate lithium ion battery 3.2V 1000-2000 times -Cheap and cycle life (aging due to charge and discharge),
The life of the calendar is long
-The voltage is lower than that of other lithium-ion batteries
Ternary lithium-ion battery 3.6 1000-2000 times The voltage is relatively high and the cycle life is long

- Cobalt lithium ion battery
In the first mass-produced lithium-ion battery, lithium cobaltate is used in the positive electrode because it is easier to synthesize. But cobalt is expensive and not used much.

-Manganese lithium ion battery
The lithium battery using lithium manganese as the positive electrode can achieve low manufacturing cost and guarantee the voltage with cobalt lithium ion battery. However, manganese can melt into the electrolyte during charging and discharging, greatly reducing battery life.

- Iron phosphate lithium ion battery
The advantage of iron-phosphate lithium-ion batteries is that they are safe, even if the internal heating structure is difficult to damage. The cathode material of iron is lower than that of manganese. The voltage level is relatively lower than lithium-ion batteries, which is suitable for home storage.

-Ternary lithium-ion battery
The ternary lithium-ion battery, which is designed to reduce the use of cobalt, is made of cobalt, nickel and manganese. Reduce the manufacturing cost; the relative voltage is lower than cobalt and manganese series. However, the synthesis of each material is difficult and the stability is low.

4.Where is lithium-ion batteries used?
The first commercially available lithium-ion batteries for home appliances were used in video cameras in the first half of the 1990s to make them small and lightweight. After that, the mobile phone was used in succession, and the market demand soared. Today, lithium-ion batteries are widely used in every scene of our lives, such as smart phones, laptops, electric cars, electric bicycles and other fields. Aerospace Burke Technology Co., LTD., as a leader in the power industry, has also introduced lithium batteries including lead-acid replacement, rack mounted, wall mounted, tower mounted, etc. The standard capacity ranges from 1.5KWH/2.5KWH, 5KWH/7KWH/10KWH, etc., supporting parallel expansion to meet different power needs. BMS management system can now cooperate with various Tier one inverters including: Goodwe, Growatt, Deye, Victron, etc.

5.How safe are lithium-ion batteries?
Energy storage batteries are energy cans. Lithium-ion batteries, which can store energy at a high density per unit volume, need to be more secure than other types of batteries. In addition, the use of flammable organic solvents requires more careful operation than other batteries that use aqueous solutions.

The most important thing to avoid is internal short-circuiting. Internal short circuit refers to the state of battery deformation caused by external force and direct contact between positive and negative terminals. The current is concentrated here, leading to high temperatures, battery fires and other serious accidents. Even the smallest impurities, once mixed into the battery, may cause internal short circuit, which requires the design of protection circuit, so that there is no excess current flow in the battery, so that the battery has the function of accident prevention. Baykee uses a variety of BMS solutions, including self-developed systems and vendor systems, to create a lithium-ion battery ecosystem. Original high current, temperature, internal resistance protection, these protection can be used for Baykee lithium battery escort.

It is also important to control the temperature of the battery by using cooling devices and other means to keep the working environment of the battery below 60℃. Set a diaphragm between the positive and negative poles. If the temperature exceeds a certain level, the diaphragm plays a complete barrier between the positive and negative poles. Use various methods to improve safety.