Lithium Ion Battery Price Decline
Lithium ion batteries are a major power source for everything from cell phones and laptops to hybrid and electric vehicles. But they’re also causing controversy because of their steep price decline.
The batteries are built with an anode, cathode, separator, and electrolyte. They can charge and discharge multiple times without losing their capacity.
High Energy Density
Lithium ion batteries (LIBs) are among the most energy-dense rechargeable batteries available. They deliver more than 41.7 kilojoules per gram of lithium, or 13,901 coulombs per kilogram. This compares to the 22.5 kilojoules per kilogram of gasoline that it takes to produce the same amount of energy.
They are found in laptops, PDAs, cell phones and iPods and are incredibly popular because they offer an incredible amount of energy pound for pound. They are also the power source for electric vehicles and large scale storage systems.
LIBs consist of an anode and cathode that are separated by an electrolyte. The anode is typically made of a graphite mix with various binders and the cathode can be of a number of different chemistries. The chemistry of the cathode determines the battery’s voltage.
A key issue with Li-ion technology Lithium Ion Battery is ensuring a high cycling capacity. The anode material must be able to tolerate a large volume expansion during charging and a significant reduction in surface area during discharge. This is difficult to achieve without sacrificing cycle life.
Another challenge is ensuring the supply of critical raw materials for LIBs. Many of the key minerals required for battery production are found in the Global South and require complicated logistics. Mining these deposits poses risks for local communities that may include human rights violations, environmental degradation and generational legacies of pollution from mining activities.
Rechargeable
Lithium batteries provide an incredible amount of energy in a very small space. This is mainly due to their high energy density, but also because they use a different battery chemistry than nickel-cadmium and other traditional batteries.
In a lithium-ion battery, the positive and negative electrodes are separated by a non-aqueous electrolyte that contains lithium ions. When you charge your battery, the lithium ions move from the negative electrode to the positive electrode. As the battery discharges, they reverse direction and return to the negative electrode. This process is called re-intercalation and is what makes a battery rechargeable.
The problem with this is that it can cause a buildup of lithium metal at the negative electrode, which can pierce the separator and create internal shorts. This is especially true when the battery is charging at a higher rate than it is discharging.
To combat this, lithium-ion batteries are designed with a special feature that checks the temperature of the cells and disconnects them from each other when the temperature gets too high. This is known as a BMS or Battery Management System. This is a critical safety feature that helps avoid cell damage and ensures a safe operation of the battery. The BMS also keeps track of the number of charge/discharge cycles a battery can perform.
Long Lifespan
The lifespan of a lithium-ion battery depends on the chemistry type, temperature, charging and discharging practices and other external conditions. All batteries degrade over time, decreasing their Ah capacity with every charge and discharge cycle. Manufacturers typically consider a battery end of life when its Ah drops below 80% of its rated capacity. However, most lithium-ion batteries can still deliver usable power at lower capacities.
Unlike other types of batteries, lithium-ion battery lifespan isn’t determined by its number of charge cycles. Instead, a battery’s longevity is primarily governed by its temperature. Exposure to extreme heat can damage battery components, leading to failure and reducing lifespan. Similarly, cold temperatures cause the battery’s inner electrolyte to freeze, lowering its lifespan.
Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) batteries are the most common types of lithium-ion battery used in devices like mobile phones, laptops, and electric vehicles today. Both LFP and NMC battery technologies have excellent energy density and high cycle life. NCA, a newer lithium-ion technology, has superior performance in high-load applications but isn’t as safe as other lithium battery types. NCA battery technology also has lower flashpoints than LFP and NMC, which can create a safety risk if the cells are exposed to excessive temperatures or short circuits. This makes NCA battery technology less suitable for use in Material Handling applications.
Safety
The most important advantage of lithium ion batteries is that they are rechargeable, making them very useful for powering portable devices such as laptops, PDAs and cell phones. However, these batteries are also notorious for bursting into flames in rare cases. This is a problem that has limited the widespread use of this type of battery technology.
To combat this potential danger, manufacturers of products that contain Lithium Ion Battery lithium ion batteries build in redundant safety features that prevent them from overheating. These include vents to release built-up gases, circuit boards that regulate energy flow and backup fuse mechanisms. Despite these precautions, accidents do happen. When one or more of these safety features fails, the battery pack can heat up very quickly in a process called thermal runaway, which can lead to fire or explosion.
In order to ensure the safety of lithium ion batteries, researchers at NREL conduct numerous tests on battery systems. Using advanced X-ray imaging, NREL scientists are able to track the chemical and structural changes in the battery electrodes as they undergo abuse testing. This research can help manufacturers to design better batteries that are less susceptible to the thermal runaway and other types of battery failures.