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What is The Industrial Battery System?

Industrial-Battery

What is an industrial battery?

Batteries for industrial applications have certain characteristics, such as high discharge and large capacity.  These batteries consist of three parts: Customized battery + BMS + Charging system

Industrial applications

Let’s look at where industrial batteries are used. Industrial applications cover a wide area, but we can separate them into 3 larger categories:

– Measuring, Mapping and Surveying equipment

– Detection and Inspection equipment

– Filming and Production equipment

In these three industrial areas, the batteries must be adjusted according to their different use.

For example, in areas with extremely cold temperatures, the batteries should have the ability to withstand low temperatures and continue to discharge at low temperatures all while fulfilling the charging capabilities. If a device can be charged in these extreme environments, users can save time and the cost that it takes to remove and replace a battery or device in these settings.  This can increase the overall efficiency.

 

Why are industrial batteries needed?

Technically, not all industrial applications require industrial batteries. However, they are the preferred norm as a complete power system will ensure that a customer’s equipment maintains sufficient power without causing any delays or decreasing inefficiency due to power problems.

 

The BMS

A BMS (Battery Management System) is the intelligent component of a battery pack that is responsible for advanced monitoring and management. It plays a critical role in safety, performance, charge rates, and longevity. By monitoring the SOC (State of Charge) of the battery and managing the charge and discharge, the BMS can overall increase the efficiency and life of the battery.

Major functions of the BMS:

  • Overcharge protection
  • Over-discharge protection
  • Overcurrent protection
  • Overheat protection
  • Short-circuit protection
  • Cell monitoring & balancing
  • Communication interface
  • Self-diagnosis
  • Power gauge

 

Customized batteries

It is impossible for one battery to fit all the different industrial applications. Its voltage, capacity, and discharge current may easily meet the requirements of one device, but its size, internal resistance, temperature range, charging rate, and may not meet the requirements of another device.  It is for this reason that industrial batteries must be customized. Take a forklift that must operate a cold storage warehouse or facility.  Let’s say that the ambient temperature at which the forklift works in such an environment is -10℃ to -40℃.

At this point, one must ask: Can the battery powering the forklift discharge at -40℃? Can the discharge current start the forklift? How long can the battery keep supplying power? Mor importantly, how long does the forklift work?

Forklifts working in cold storage facilities generally need to be driven to a separate room with normal temperatures for charging.  This is because a Lithium battery’s charging performance below 0 degrees is extremely poor, and the battery may pose a safety hazard.  When the battery returns to normal temperatures, moisture can generate on the surface.  If the battery is also used or stored in an environment with high humidity for a long time, the battery cells will corrode and affect the battery life.

Himax LiFePO4 Battery

Himax low-temperature LiPo battery charge curved

On the other hand, if the battery has been customized to work in low-temperature environments, then the battery will be able to be charged in the cold storage facility without having to go through the hassle of moving the forklift to another space.  This will overall increase efficiency and save on costs, which is why a customized battery is important for industrial applications.

 

The charging system

In general, the power of industrial battery chargers is relatively large; after all, the voltage and capacity of industrial batteries are relatively large, but the essentials of industrial battery chargers are to create synergistic effects with industrial batteries.

Industrial batteries are biased towards customized energy solutions, so chargers need to be able to detect the state of the battery to provide the highest quality charging solution, such as determining its own charging cycle rate to adjust the charging current based on the battery’s discharge state. Through the BMS, the charger can detect whether the battery has an abnormal voltage gap and remind the user that the battery needs to be replaced. Fail-safe designs also protect the battery and device when the state of charge is abnormal.

 

Advantages of an industrial battery system

The profitability of the manufacturing industry is constantly in a state of flux. Therefore, capacity and cost control are particularly important, and cost reduction will help factories have a greater advantage in profitability and bargaining power. Being able to achieve this goal allows these companies to maintain their profitability despite the rise and fall of commodity prices. If you want to learn more about industrial batteries, please contact us.

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A LiFePO4 Battery Vs Lithium Ion Polymer Battery

LiFePO4-vs-li-ion-polymer-battery

LiFePO4-vs-li-ion-polymer-battery

The cycle life of a Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery is more than 4 to 5 times that of other lithium ion polymer batteries. The operating temperature range is wider and safer; however, the discharge platform is lower, the nominal voltage is only 3.2V, and the fully-charged voltage is 3.65V.

 

Lithium iron phosphate is mostly used to replace traditional lead-acid batteries. We also often find that lithium iron phosphate batteries are used in household solar energy systems, fishing, golf carts, outdoor portable energy storages, and electric motorcycles.

 

What is a Lithium iron phosphate battery?

Lithium-ion polymer (LIPO) battery

 

A lithium ion polymer battery is a kind of rechargeable battery that mainly relies on the movement of lithium ions between positive electrode and negative electrode to work. Lithium ion batteries use an intercalated lithium compound as an electrode material. At present, the commonly used cathode materials for lithium ion batteries are: lithium cobalt oxide (LCO battery), lithium manganate (LMO battery), lithium-ion ternary (NCA, NMC battery), and lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4 battery).

 

Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4, LFP) battery

A lithium iron phosphate battery is a type of lithium ion polymer battery that uses LiFePO4 as the cathode material and a graphitic carbon electrode with a metallic backing as the anode.

 

The LiFePO4 battery, also called the LFP battery, is a type of rechargeable battery. It is the safest Lithium battery type currently available on the market today. It is made to be small in size and light in weight, and the cycle life can reach thousands of cycles.

 

The difference between LiFePO4 batteries and other li-ion batteries

Inherited some advantages from Lithium-ion batteries

Large current charging and discharging are one of the advantages of LiPo batteries, which allows a device to release more energy in a short period of time.  These batteries are used more in racing and power tools: almost all drones and RC model batteries use lithium ion batteries.

 

Batteries for RC models normally reach 15C, 30C, 50C discharge. Lithium-ion polymer batteries with high discharge rate can reach a maximum of 50C (continuous) and 150C (pulse). They are light in weight, have a long life, and can be manufactured into various shapes. These are just some of the advantages of lithium ion batteries, and lithium iron phosphate batteries have these advantages.

 

Long cycle life

Because a LFP battery’s cycle life is 4 to 5 times that of other lithium ion batteries, it can reach 2000 to 3000 cycles or more. The LiFePO4 battery can also reach 100% depth of discharge (DOD). This means that, for energy storage products, there is no need to worry about over discharging a LFP battery, and it can even be used for a longer period of time. A good LiFePO4 battery can be used for 3 to 7 years, so the average cost is very affordable.

 

For more content on depth of discharge (DOD), you can read this article: What is DOD for LiFePO4 batteries?

 

However, a LiFePO4 battery is not suitable for wearable devices as its energy density is lower than that of other lithium-ion batteries.  Furthermore, the battery compartment has limited space, so the capacity is relatively lower.

 

Thus, compared to another LiPo battery, a LFP battery does not have quite as good endurance and compatibility with the conditions and internal space of wearable devices.

 

Why are most lithium iron phosphate batteries 12V?

It is said that the lithium iron phosphate battery can perfectly replace the lead-acid battery. The nominal voltage of a lead-acid battery is 2V, and the six lead-acid batteries connected in series are 12V.

 

However, the 12V LiFePO4 battery pack is generally composed of 4 battery cells connected in series. The nominal voltage of a single lithium iron phosphate pouch cell is 3.2V.  When adding the voltage of the series, we get 12.8V (3.2V * 4 = 12.8V). There are also the 24V (25.6V) and 48V (51.2V), which are commonly used.

 

In addition, the voltage requirement of most industrial applications is 12V or above, which is also the minimum standard of the nominal voltage of general industrial batteries. There are also many applications that need to reach 220V, even 380V or above, such as an industrial forklift, winch, electric drill, etc.

 

The sales of 24V and 48V electric forklifts are on the rise especially recently, so a primary concern is over how safe a battery is. Compared to the lithium cobalt oxide and lithium manganese oxide batteries, lithium iron phosphate batteries are a lot more safe. The advantage of high life can reduce the whole costs of maintaining and replacing the battery as well.

 

The shortcomings of cold temperature

Compared to other LiPo and lead-acid batteries, lithium iron phosphate batteries have poor resistance in low-temperature environments; generally, they can only discharge at -10℃ to -20℃.

 

However, clients think positively of LFP batteries and their high safety functions.  They sacrifice some battery performance and specify that they discharge at -30℃ to -40℃.  These batteries are mostly used in the military or deep sea and space equipment.

 

Learn more about batteries

Keep an eye out on Himax’s official blog, where we regularly update industry-related articles to keep you up-to-date.

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Why High Voltage Batteries?

High-Voltage-LiPo-Batteries

High-Voltage-LiPo-Batteries

Drones are being used more and more widely in all our lives, so the batteries that power these devices are increasingly advancing and being pushed to their limits. One of the biggest challenges to these batteries is endurance; more and more users need the power to last longer.

One such example is with an agricultural drone. Let’s say that the drone carries 10kg of pesticide with two ordinary Lithium Polymer (LiPo) batteries that have a capacity of 16000mAh in 6S (22.2V). This drone will only be able to last about ten minutes with these batteries, which farmers generally find to be too short. However, the use of high-voltage batteries with the same capacity and C rating can increase this flight time by 15-25%, which will increase the efficiency and operations.

We will explore why high-voltage batteries can improve flight duration and also look at the advantages of such batteries.

1. Weight

Without an increase in weight, high-voltage batteries provide better performance.  This is key for UAVs since each drone has a specific payload that it cannot go over.

2. Higher Voltage

If we compare ordinary LiPo batteries to that of those with high voltage, we see a subtle change in voltage. Through this little voltage increase, users are able to get increased performance in their products.

Ordinary LiPo Batteries

The nominal voltage for a single LiPo cell is 3.7V. A 6S battery pack has a nominal voltage of 22.2V, and a 12S has 44.4V.

A single LiPo cell that is fully charged has 4.2V while a 6S has 25.2V and a 12S 50.4V.

High-Voltage LiPo Batteries

The nominal voltage of a single high-voltage LiPo cell is 3.8V, a 6S pack has 22.8V, and a 12S has 45.6V.

A single LiPo cell that is fully charged has 4.35V while a 6S has 26.1V and a 12S 52.2V.

3. Better Cycle Life

Battery-cycle-life

In the chart above, we can follow the discharge rate of several batteries. The high-voltage 4.4V batteries (shown in green) demonstrate a higher discharge rate and discharge capacity.

Battery-cycle-life-1

The above chart shows that, under the same discharge currents and cycles, the 4.4V (in blue) has a longer cycle life than the other batteries at 4.35V or 4.2V.

4. Increased Efficiency

Similar to the example offered at the beginning, we put two drones together for a simple test.  Both drones carried 15kg of water with two batteries of 25C and 22000mAh in 6S.

The drone with the non-high-voltage batteries (22.2V) lasted 17 minutes and 50 seconds.

The drone with the high-voltage batteries (22.8V) lasted longer for 22 minutes and 10 seconds, lasting 4 minutes longer than the ordinary batteries.

Conclusion

According to the above data, the advantages of high-voltage UAV batteries are obvious.

We are able to custom, high-voltage cells and offer a one-stop service for your battery designs and solutions.

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How To Store 18650 Batteries Safely

warehouse

warehouse

What is the best way to store an 18650 battery?

In this blog post, rather than do my own testing – I will rely on the specification sheets provided by Panasonic, Samsung, and LG. We’ll look at the storing section of these spec sheets, and break down the important factors and what they mean. Scroll to the end, the overview, to get to the conclusions of the post quickly.

Panasonic-18650-B

18650B

 

What does it mean?

There are three rows, each with different storage conditions. Note the second and third column are locked in place by the fourth. Each row represents recovering 80% of the battery’s usable capacity. Since the rated capacity of the NCR18650B is 3200 mAh, this 80% represents 2560 mAh after storage.

  1. If you are storing an 18650 battery for less than a month, you may store it in an environment as hot as 50°Cand be able to recover 2560 mAh.
  2. If you are storing an 18650 battery for less than 3 months, you may store it in an environment as hot as 40°Cand be able to recover 2560 mAh.
  3. If you are storing an 18650 battery for less than 1 year, you may store it in an environment as hot as 20°Cand be able to recover 2560 mAh.

In the last case, storing for one year with a 20% drop in capacity translates to 1.6% loss of capacity per month, or 53 mAh.

In the first case (storing at high temperatures for less than one month) translates to a loss of 21 mAh per day.

Storage temperature and conditions

We can see from the above 3 items, it is temperature as the main factor determining the resulting capacity after storage, and ultimately how long you can store your battery for.

18650 batteries can be stored at very low temperatures, but high temperatures degrade them quickly. Rule of thumb: They must always be stored at less than 60°C.

Lithium-ion batteries, in most cases must maintain a voltage above 2.5V before they start to break down and decompose. Therefore, for long-term storage it is best to “top-up” your batteries when their voltage drops too low.

  • Note 1:When receiving new cells, the manufacture will ship them at a 40% charge. However, it is very likely this will soon be set at 30% as airline safety regulations demand safer transport, and less charge is safer.
  • Note 2:In these tests, Panasonic fully charged the batteries at 25°C, up to 4.2V. However, for long-term storage it is recommended not to store at a full charge, but to seek a lower voltage (more on that ahead).

Finally, the environment should be dry, or low humidity – without dust, or a corrosive gas atmosphere. Optimizing your cell’s environment becomes more important the longer they are kept stored. Anything above 3 months may start to be considered long-term.

Samsung-25R

Samsung 25R

 

Differences between the Samsung 25R and Panasonic 18650B

The Samsung 25R performs better during storage on all fronts. Across the board, the 25R can store at ten degrees lower than the 18650B. As well, the difference in higher temperatures, in favor of the 25R from 1 month, 3 months, to 1.5 years, is +10°C, +5°C, +5°C.

Most importantly, this 18650 battery can be stored a full six months longer and retain 90% capacity (10% more than the NCR18650B).

The optimal storing voltage

The 25R spec sheet notes that for long-term storage, the voltage should, rather than be fully charged, set at a lower, more optimal voltage. This is to prevent the degrading of performance characteristics. In the case of the 25R, the recommended voltage is 50 ± 5% of its standard (4.2V) charged state.

  • This works out to be a range between 3.64V and 3.71V

Other batteries have different ranges, but most are close to ~50% voltage which is usually around ~3.7V.

Storing 18650 batteries

Overview

It is good to reference at least three batteries, and off the blog I have checked more. All 18650 batteries researched need a storage range of between -20 ~ +50°C (-4°F ~ + 122°F) or they will degrade, so this is a good rule of thumb to use.

Also keep in mind the maximum temperature for storage should never exceed +60°C (140°F). It is better to store in a cold environment, than a hot one.

Optimally, a good storage temperature should be closer to 25°C (77°F) or a somewhat lower. The closer you are to an optimal temperature, the longer you will be able to store your batteries without “topping up” and recharging them.

For the most part, the maximum time for 18650 storage before recharge is about one year.

If you are intending long term 18650 storage, a storage charge closer to 50% of usable capacity (~3.7V) rather than 100% (4.2V) will prevent faster battery degradation.

Frequently asked questions and notes

What happens if I don’t store my 18650 batteries correctly?

It will cause a loss of performance and your cells may leak and/or rust, and ultimately become unusable. Cells becoming unstable enough and exploding in storage is a possibility. In the worst case – explosion – it is not clear why this sometimes happens but it could be due to static, pressure, temperature, or packing incorrectly (allowing metal objects or batteries to touch).

Notes
  • For very short-term storage, don’t store the battery in a pocket or a bag together with metallic objects such as keys, necklaces, hairpins, coins, or screws when you are travelling.
  • Remove the battery from its application before storing it. For example, from your e-cigarette, flashlight, or electric bike. You should optimally store the batteries in a fire-proof container, with optimal environmental conditions.
  • Do not store 18650 batteries in or near objects that will produce a static electric charge.
  • Quick pressure changes can also cause 18650 batteries to malfunction

 

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The difference between UPS and EPS

Emergency-Power-Supply

What is a UPS?

A UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) ensures that users can save data in emergency situations to avoid unnecessary losses due to power outages. This is a technology developed for power grids, network and medical systems, and other systems that rely on a centralized power supply of a network of computer systems.

Emergency-Power-Supply 

Advantages of EPS (Emergency Power Supply)

An EPS (Emergency Power Supply) has a conversion time that is generally in the millisecond level (2ms-250ms), which fluctuates according to different load characteristics to ensure the timeliness of power supply;

It has strong load adaptability, including capacitive, inductive, and hybrid loads, and strong overload and shock resistance;

There are multiple outputs to prevent failure caused by a single output;

There are fire linkage and remote control signals, which can be switched between manual and automatic;

It can adapt to its environment.  It is suitable for a variety of harsh environments with measures to prevent failure in high and low temperatures and hot and humid environments.  It can work against, salt spray, dust, vibrations, and rat bites;

An EPS has a long service life, fast battery charge, and management capabilities.

 

Differences between an EPS’s backup power and UPS’s power

Applications

An EPS is mainly used in electrical equipment for the fire protection industry.  It is used for those who look for a continuous power supply that can be used in an emergency in case of sudden power grid failure.

A UPS is generally used for precision instrument loads (such as computers, servers and other IT industry equipment), which require a high power supply quality.  It is used for those who look for certain requirements, such as a quick switch-over time to an inverter, output voltage, frequency stability, and purity of output waveforms.

 

Functions

An EPS generally does not have high requirements for a switch-over time to an inverter. Special applications have certain requirements. There are multiple outputs and monitoring and detection functions for each output and a single battery. The daily focus is on bypassing a power supply and switching to an inverter only when the main power fails, and the power utilization rate is high.

The On-Line UPS has only one total output and generally emphasizes its three major functions:

Voltage and frequency stabilization

A quick switch-over time

The rectifier / inverter double-conversion circuit: The inverter is switched to bypass the power supply only when the inverter fails or is overloaded.

The power utilization rate is not high (generally 80-90%). However, some places in European and American countries, where power grids and complete power supplies are used, have switched over to a UPS with a short switch-over time to an inverter (less than 10ms) to save energy.

 

Structure

An EPS mainly provides power for power protection and fire safety. The load has both inductive, capacitive, and rectified non-linear loads, and some loads are only put into operation after the power supply is cut off. Therefore, EPS is required to provide a large inrush current, good output dynamic characteristics, and a stronger anti-overload. A UPS, on the other hand, mainly supplies power to computers and network equipment, and the nature of the load (input power factor) is not much different.

The main purpose of a UPS is to maintain the transferage of information, and the main purpose of an EPS is to prevent major disasters. In other words, a UPS focuses on saving data while an EPS mainly focuses on saving people. Generally, EPS power is large, and the inverter in the machine is in a standby state.

EPS power inverters have a larger redundancy: both the incoming and outgoing cabinets are inside the EPS, and the motor loads are started with variable frequency. The casing and wires are flame retardant, and there are multiple ways to input power, which can be linked with fire protection. An EPS power load is also generally inductive and resistive. It can come with motors, lighting, fans, pumps, and other equipment.

UPS power inverters, on the other hand, have a relatively small redundancy, do not need to be flame retardant, and have no mutual investment function. A UPS power load is also a capacitive load. The main belt device is usually a computer, which is mainly used in computer rooms to ensure uninterrupted power supply and voltage stabilization.

 

Different power supplies

A UPS prioritizes an inverter to ensure its power supply while an EPS prioritizes city power to ensure saving energy. There are differences in the design specifications of the rectifier / charger and the inverter.

An EPS uses an offline power supply; unfortunately, when the utility power fails and an EPS cannot be powered by the emergency battery, it cannot do anything, and consequences are dire.

A UPS is on-line. Even if there is a power failure, it can be alarmed in time. With the backup power in city power supply, the user can grasp the power failure in time and eliminate it without causing greater losses.

 

Precautions against using a UPS

A UPS should be used in a well-ventilated and clean environment to facilitate heat dissipation.

Do not carry inductive loads, such as money counters, fluorescent lamps, air conditioners, etc., to avoid damage.

The output load control of a UPS is best at around 60%, and the reliability is the highest.

A UPS with a light load (such as a 1000VA UPS with a 100VA load) may cause deep discharge of the battery, which will reduce the battery life and should be avoided as much as possible.

Appropriate discharge can help the activation of the battery. For example, if the main power is not interrupted for a long period of time, the main UPS should be manually disconnected and discharged once every three months.

A small-sized UPS can generally be on and off when the employees are at and off work respectively. A UPS in a network room must run around the clock, however, since most networks work 24 hours.

A UPS should be charged after discharging to prevent the battery from being damaged due to excessive self-discharge.

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What is a forklift battery？

Forklift Battery

Forklift Battery

A forklift battery actually has two functions:

 

  1. To provide a power source to the forklift.
  2. The lesser-known function is to provide mass as a counterweight, which aids the forklift’s lifting capacity.

 

The most common forklift batteries are Lead Acid, but a trend to use Lithium iron phosphate replacement battery due to advantages of higher capacity, safety, and more cycles, etc.

Forklift LiFePO4 Battery

However, we found that there are more forklift customers are require LiFePo4 battery and a few low-temperature requirement. For a simple comparison:

  • Price

Lead-Acid battery: $$$

 

LiFePO4 battery: $$$$$$$$$$

 

  • Features

LiFePO4 battery > Lead Acid battery

 

Let’s take an example if the working environment is the low temperature like freezer inventory, so Lithium iron phosphate must be better due to working at low temperatures for a long time, and low-temperature charging required.

 

  • Weight

Lead-Acid battery: More Heavy (70kg and 80kg per kWh of usable capacity)

 

LiFePO4 battery: Lighter (10kg and 15kg per kWh of usable capacity)

 

  • Cost per cycle

LiFePO4 battery (more charge & discharge cycles) > Lead Acid battery

 

12v Forklift Battery

The cycles count of traditional Lead-acid battery is around 500–600 times, LiFePO4 battery is around 2000 times (The promise cycles of Grepow Lithium iron phosphate battery is 1500 times / 3 years)

 

In addition to the high initial cost of Lithium iron phosphate battery, it is free of replacement and maintenance cost, that’s why LiFePO4 battery is more economical than Lead Acid even higher initial cost.

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What Is The Benefits Of Solar Street Lights With Lithium Battery?

It has a lot of benefits to solar street lights with lithium batteries. So more and more countries and areas are planning to use solar street lights with a lithium battery.

A small solar panel, after absorbing one-day solar energy, produces enough electricity for a 30 Watt LED solar street light to last 2–3 days. Compared with traditional street lamps, solar street lights with lithium batteries can save a lot of electric energy and can reduce the consumption of electric energy when no one passes, without human control. Some years ago, solar street lights use lead-acid battery or gel battery, these batteries are heavy, the DOD is 70%, low efficiency, and easy to steal by theft. Solar street lights with lithium battery, the lithium battery is light and DOD is 100%, more efficient, and can install on the top of the pole or fix inside the lamp, it has an anti-theft function.

street-light-battery

The reduction of advanced control technology and energy consumption, coupled with the development of solar street lights technology and lithium battery technology, has gradually replaced solar street lights with lithium batteries with traditional street lights.

A 250W traditional street lamp lights up for 10 hours a day, and need consumes about 100 KWh a year. Installing 30 Watt LED solar street light can achieve the same light efficiency, so installing solar street lights with lithium battery can save at least 80% of the electricity bill. Solar street light Philippines are widely used. The lighting conditions in this area are good, there are many islands, many places are too far away to be connected to the mains, and most of them are tourist areas. The installation of solar street lights will also help the tourism activities of these places. So the benefits of solar street lights with a lithium battery will include high efficiency, long use life, save a lot of power and anti-theft.

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India’s Electric Vehicle Ambitions Could Stumble On Lack Of Lithium

EV-Car-Battery

2 min read . Updated: 21 Jan 2020, 09:32 AM IST

Swansy Afonso , Bloomberg

 

▪ Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration unveiled a slew of measures in 2019 to promote the clean-energy vehicles

▪ Several plans are under way to build lithium-ion battery factories in India

 

EV-Car-Battery

 

Topics

  • Electric vehicles

MUMBAI : India’s ambition of becoming a global hub for making electric vehicles faces one major hurdle: its lack of access to lithium.

 

Home to some of the most polluted cities on the planet, the South Asian nation is pivoting toward new-energy vehicles to clean up its toxic air. But with meager resources of lithium, the mineral essential to make batteries for electric vehicles, it is having to scour for resources overseas.

 

India’s EV production will rely on imports from China of lithium chemicals used to make cathodes and battery cells, according to Jasmeet Singh Kalsi, director at Manikaran Power Ltd., which is exploring setting up India’s first lithium refinery. “China has a thriving lithium chemical, battery cathode, battery cell and EV supply chain. India has none.”

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration unveiled a slew of measures in 2019 to promote the clean-energy vehicles, including a $1.4 billion plan to make India a manufacturing hub for EVs and cutting taxes to spur purchases. While electric cars in India remain a small segment, with an estimated 3,000 sold in 2018 compared with the 3.4 million fossil fuel-powered cars in the same year, the nation is forecast become the fourth-largest market for EVs by 2040, when the segment will comprise nearly a third of all vehicles sales, according to BloombergNEF.

 

  • Import Reliance

Several plans are under way to build lithium-ion battery factories in India. Meanwhile, China — the largest electric vehicle market in the world — is dominant in the battery supply chain. Around three-quarters of battery cell manufacturing capacity is in China, and Chinese companies have unparalleled control of required domestic and foreign battery raw materials and processing facilities, according to BNEF.

 

“Indian companies have been involved in trying to prospect for stakes in overseas resources, and possibly on-shoring more raw materials production capacity in India,” said Sophie Lu, head of metals and mining for BloombergNEF. “But there are very little synergies right now because further up the value chain, battery components manufacturing capacity does not seem to be planned extensively for India.”

 

A joint venture called Khanij Bidesh India Ltd. has been formed between three state-run companies — National Aluminium Co., Hindustan Copper Ltd. and Mineral Exploration Corp. — to acquire lithium and cobalt mines overseas. Amara Raja Batteries Ltd., the country’s second-biggest traditional battery maker by value, will build a lithium-ion assembly plant, while Suzuki Motor Corp. along with Toshiba Corp. and Denso Corp. is setting up a lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant.

 

Manikaran signed an agreement with Australia’s Neometals in June to jointly fund the evaluation of developing a lithium refinery in India with a capacity of 10,000 tons to 15,000 tons of the finished product. That capacity falls short of India’s projected requirement of 200,000 tons of lithium hydroxide by 2030, Kalsi said.

 

Electric vehicles are “slowly going to take off, not with the speed the government perceives it to be, but going ahead the market is going to get pretty huge,” he said.

 

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.

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How To Choose The Best Battery For A Solar Energy System

Himax Solar Battery

There are certain specifications you should use when evaluating your solar battery options, such as how long the solar battery will last or how much power it can provide. Below, learn about all of the criteria that you should use to compare your home energy storage options, as well as the different types of solar batteries.

How to compare your solar storage options

As you consider your solar-plus-storage options, you’ll come across a lot of complicated product specifications. The most important ones to use during your evaluation are the battery’s capacity & power ratings, depth of discharge (DoD), round-trip efficiency, warranty, and manufacturer.

Capacity & power

Capacity is the total amount of electricity that a solar battery can store, measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh). Most home solar batteries are designed to be “stackable,” which means that you can include multiple batteries with your solar-plus-storage system to get extra capacity.

While capacity tells you how big your battery is, it doesn’t tell you how much electricity a battery can provide at a given moment. To get the full picture, you also need to consider the battery’s power rating. In the context of solar batteries, a power rating is the amount of electricity that a battery can deliver at one time. It is measured in kilowatts (kW).

A battery with a high capacity and a low power rating would deliver a low amount of electricity (enough to run a few crucial appliances) for a long time. A battery with low capacity and a high power rating could run your entire home, but only for a few hours.

Depth of discharge (DoD)

Most solar batteries need to retain some charge at all times due to their chemical composition. If you use 100 percent of a battery’s charge, its useful life will be significantly shortened.

The depth of discharge (DoD) of a battery refers to the amount of a battery’s capacity that has been used. Most manufacturers will specify a maximum DoD for optimal performance. For example, if a 10 kWh battery has a DoD of 90 percent, you shouldn’t use more than 9 kWh of the battery before recharging it. Generally speaking, a higher DoD means you will be able to utilize more of your battery’s capacity.

Himax Solar Battery

Round-trip efficiency

A battery’s round-trip efficiency represents the amount of energy that can be used as a percentage of the amount of energy that it took to store it. For example, if you feed five kWh of electricity into your battery and can only get four kWh of useful electricity back, the battery has 80 percent round-trip efficiency (4 kWh / 5 kWh = 80%). Generally speaking, a higher round-trip efficiency means you will get more economic value out of your battery.

Battery life & warranty

For most uses of home energy storage, your battery will “cycle” (charge and drain) daily. The battery’s ability to hold a charge will gradually decrease the more you use it. In this way, solar batteries are like the battery in your cell phone – you charge your phone each night to use it during the day, and as your phone gets older you’ll start to notice that the battery isn’t holding as much of a charge as it did when it was new. For example, a battery might be warrantied for 5,000 cycles or 10 years at 70 percent of its original capacity. This means that at the end of the warranty, the battery will have lost no more than 30 percent of its original ability to store energy.

Your solar battery will have a warranty that guarantees a certain number of cycles and/or years of useful life. Because battery performance naturally degrades over time, most manufacturers will also guarantee that the battery keeps a certain amount of its capacity over the course of the warranty. Therefore, the simple answer to the question “how long will my solar battery last?” is that it depends on the brand of battery you buy and and how much capacity it will lose over time.

Manufacturer

Many different types of organizations are developing and manufacturing solar battery products, from automotive companies to tech startups. While a major automotive company entering the energy storage market likely has a longer history of product manufacturing, they may not offer the most revolutionary technology. By contrast, a tech startup might have a brand-new high-performing technology, but less of a track record to prove the battery’s long-term functionality.

Whether you choose a battery manufactured by a cutting-edge startup or a manufacturer with a long history depends on your priorities. Evaluating the warranties associated with each product can give you additional guidance as you make your decision.

 

How long do solar batteries last?

There are two ways to answer this question and the first is to determine how long a solar battery can power your home. In many cases, a fully charged battery can run your home overnight when your solar panels are not producing energy. To make a more exact calculation, you’ll need to know a few variables, including how much energy your household consumes in a given day, what the capacity and power rating is for your solar battery and whether or not you are connected to the electric grid.

For the sake of a simple example, we’ll determine the size of a battery needed to provide an adequate solar plus storage solution with national average data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The average U.S. household will use roughly 30 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy per day and a typical solar battery can deliver some 10 kWh of capacity. Thus a very simple answer would be, if you purchased three solar batteries, you could run your home for an entire day with nothing but battery support.

12V 100AH

In reality, the answer is more complicated than that. You will also be generating power with your solar panel system during the day which will offer strong power for some 6-7 hours of the day during peak sunlight hours. On the other end, most batteries cannot run at maximum capacity and generally peak at a 90% DoD (as explained above). As a result, your 10 kWh battery likely has a useful capacity of 9 kWh.

Ultimately, if you are pairing your battery with a solar PV array, one or two batteries can provide sufficient power during nighttime when your panels are not producing. However, without a renewable energy solution, you may need 3 batteries or more to power your entire home for 24 hours. Additionally, if you are installing home energy storage in order to disconnect from the electric grid, you should install a few days’ worth of backup power to account for days where you might have cloudy weather.

 

Solar battery lifespan

The general range for a solar battery’s useful lifespan is between 5 and 15 years. If you install a solar battery today, you will likely need to replace it at least once to match the 25 to 30 year lifespan of your PV system. However, just as the lifespan of solar panels has increased significantly in the past decade, it is expected that solar batteries will follow suit as the market for energy storage solutions grows.

Proper maintenance can also have a significant effect on your solar battery’s lifespan. Solar batteries are significantly impacted by temperature, so protecting your battery from freezing or sweltering temperatures can increase its useful life. When a PV battery drops below 30° F, it will require more voltage to reach maximum charge; when that same battery rises above the 90° F threshold, it will become overheated and require a reduction in charge. To solve this problem, many leading battery manufacturers, like Tesla, provide temperature moderation as a feature. However, if the battery that you buy does not, you will need to consider other solutions like earth-sheltered enclosures. Quality maintenance efforts can definitely impact how long your solar battery will last.

 

What are the best batteries for solar?

Batteries used in home energy storage typically are made with one of three chemical compositions: lead acid, lithium ion, and saltwater. In most cases, lithium ion batteries are the best option for a solar panel system, though other battery types can be more affordable.

1. Lead acid

Lead acid batteries are a tested technology that has been used in off-grid energy systems for decades. While they have a relatively short life and lower DoD than other battery types, they are also one of the least expensive options currently on the market in the home energy storage sector. For homeowners who want to go off the grid and need to install lots of energy storage, lead acid can be a good option.

 

2. Lithium ion

The majority of new home energy storage technologies, such as the , use some form of lithium ion chemical composition. Lithium ion batteries are lighter and more compact than lead acid batteries. They also have a higher DoD and longer lifespan when compared to lead acid batteries.  However, lithium ion batteries are more expensive than their lead acid counterparts.

 

3. Saltwater

A newcomer in the home energy storage industry is the saltwater battery. Unlike other home energy storage options, saltwater batteries don’t contain heavy metals, relying instead on saltwater electrolytes. While batteries that use heavy metals, including lead acid and lithium ion batteries, need to be disposed of with special processes, a saltwater battery can be easily recycled. However, as a new technology, saltwater batteries are relatively untested, and the one company that makes solar batteries for home use (Aquion) filed for bankruptcy in 2017.

 

  • Find the best solar battery for your home

51.2V 100Ah LiFePO4 Battery

12V 150Ah LiFePO4 Battery

12V 120Ah LiFePO4 Battery

 

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Lead-Acid Batteries Are On A Path To Extinction

lead-acid battery can be replaced by a lithium-ion battery

Batteries became an indispensable part of our daily lives during the 20th Century. But the pace of change has dramatically increased in the 21st Century with the development of new battery types. The resulting battery revolution that is underway is enabling the beginning of a seismic shift in the way we power our transportation systems and heavy equipment, as well as how we power our cities.

The key to this revolution has been the development of affordable batteries with much greater energy density. This new generation of batteries threatens to end the lengthy reign of the lead-acid battery.

But consumers could be forgiven for being confused about the many different battery types vying for market share in this exciting new future. So let’s break down the basics of battery types and their applications.

Battery Categories

Batteries are broadly categorized as either primary or secondary. A primary battery is a disposable battery. We are all familiar with those types of batteries. The most common type of primary battery is the alkaline battery, so named because its electrolyte is alkaline (potassium hydroxide).

The 20-pack of Duracell batteries you buy at the hardware store for $15 are alkaline batteries. These batteries come in different sizes and with different voltage levels, the most common of which are designated AA, AAA, C, D, and 9-volt.

Primary batteries are cheap, and are used in flashlights, TV remotes, toys, and consumer electronics.

Secondary batteries are rechargeable. The initial cost of these batteries is usually higher than with primary batteries, but they begin to have a significant economic advantage in power-hungry applications that would rapidly consume alkaline batteries.

Secondary Battery Types

The most common type of secondary battery is the lead-acid battery. The lead-acid battery is the oldest type of rechargeable battery, found in most of the world’s automobiles. It is relatively low-cost and reliable, but it has the lowest energy to volume and energy to weight ratio of the major types of secondary batteries. This makes it popular for energy storage applications in which weight and space aren’t a major concern — like backup power for solar photovoltaic systems. But for mobile applications that rely heavily on battery power, the lead-acid battery is being rapidly superseded by newer battery types.

The lithium-ion battery has emerged as the most serious contender for dethroning the lead-acid battery. Lithium-ion batteries are on the other end of the energy density scale from lead-acid batteries. They have the highest energy to volume and energy to weight ratio of the major types of secondary battery. That means you can pack more energy into a smaller space, and the weight will also be lower.

Lithium-ion batteries are still new compared to lead-acid batteries. The knock on them had been cost, but those costs have plummeted over the past decade, and are projected to continue declining.

The other two major types of secondary batteries are nickel-based, and both fall between lead-acid and lithium-ion in terms of energy density. The nickel–cadmium battery (Ni-Cd battery) uses nickel oxide hydroxide and metallic cadmium as electrodes. Ni-Cd batteries are great at maintaining voltage and holding charge when not in use. But these batteries are well-known for “memory” effects that take place when a partially charged battery is recharged. This degrades the capacity of the battery over time.

Ni-Cd batteries were once popular in portable power tools and portable electronic devices. But nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) batteries have largely supplanted them in these applications due to lower costs and higher energy density. In addition to having up to three times the capacity of a Ni-Cd battery of the same size, Ni-MH batteries don’t have the “memory” effect of Ni-Cd batteries.

Selecting the Right Battery

It can be difficult, given the increasing number of battery options, to determine the best type of battery for your application. Some important considerations are energy density, power density, cost, cycle life durability, voltage, and safety.

These considerations generally involve trade-offs. Ideally a battery would possess high energy and power density, and good durability — at a low price. In reality, consumers have had to pay a premium for batteries with greater energy density. But that is changing.

Research organization Bloomberg NEF reported that the volume-weighted average lithium-ion battery pack price (which includes the cell and the pack) fell 85% from 2010-18, reaching an average of $176/kWh. BloombergNEF further projects that prices will fall to $94/kWh by 2024 and $62/kWh by 2030. That would reflect a 95% price decline over the course of 20 years. In comparison, lead-acid battery packs are still around $150/kWh, and that’s 160 years after the lead-acid battery was invented.

Thus, it may not be long before the most energy dense battery is also the cheapest battery. That has enormous implications for the future of lead-acid batteries.

Another important consideration is a battery’s capacity. The capacity defines the run-time of the battery, which reflects the discharge current the battery can provide until it needs recharging.

The energy content of a battery is obtained by multiplying the battery capacity in ampere hours (Ah) by the voltage to obtain watt-hours (Wh). Two batteries can have the same Ah capacity, but if one has a higher voltage it will have more energy.

These are important concepts to understand if you are trying to decide on a battery to power a flashlight versus one to power a forklift.

The power density defines the maximum rate of discharge of the battery. Some batteries require a low rate of discharge, but those used to provide bursts of power will need greater power density.

As the battery is discharged, it will have to be recharged. The cycle life durability of a battery defines the stability of the battery through repeated cycles.

Finally, the operating environment of the battery needs to be considered. High or low temperatures, for example, can impact a battery’s performance and safety.

Case Study

Over the next few years, many companies are going to grapple with the decision of whether to transition their applications from lead-acid to more modern battery types. There are several economic considerations, which can be demonstrated with a case study.

Tim Karimov, who is the President at California-based lithium-ion battery supplier OneCharge, has said their customers show “the total cost of ownership for Li-ion averages 20% to 40% lower in just 2 to 4 years.”

Here is how they arrive at that number. While they don’t cite base capacity costs for lithium-ion batteries versus lead-acid batteries, they do note in a presentation that a lead-acid battery can be replaced by a lithium-ion battery with as little as 60% of the same capacity:

lead-acid battery can be replaced by a lithium-ion battery

Lead-acid to lithium-ion comparison ONECHARGE PRESENTATION

The reason for this is that the maximum discharge of the lead-acid batteries is 80%, whereas lithium-ion batteries can be discharged to zero. In addition to that, lithium-ion batteries can be charged at various points during the day (breaks, etc.), a practice that would quickly reduce the lifespan of the lead-acid battery.

For example, the company cites a recent case study in which a customer was able to reduce the number of lift trucks they had on hand from 17 to 12 by switching from lead-acid batteries to lithium-ion batteries — primarily because of opportunity charging.

Thus, even though the price for capacity is higher for lithium-ion batteries, the fact that you need less capacity lowers the lithium-ion premium (which, according to BloombergNEF, likely won’t be a premium for much longer).

Karimov cites additional savings from a case study from a fruit-growing, packaging and shipping operation with 2 shifts and 30 trucks:

  • Downtime from battery changes — $56,000 per year
  • Watering the lead acid batteries — $8,000 per year
  • The need for a new battery room — $440,000
  • Higher preventative maintenance costs and insurance rates related to health risks with lead acid

In addition, lithium-ion batteries have a longer life cycle with 3,000 cycles compared to less than 1,500 with lead acid. Historically, consumers considered such savings in deciding whether to switch to lithium-ion batteries. But with declining lithium-ion prices, that decision may soon be much easier.

Conclusions

The world is in the midst of a battery revolution, but declining costs and a rising installed base signal that lithium-ion batteries are set to displace lead-acid batteries. As long as lithium-ion batteries are more expensive than lead-acid batteries, the economics will depend on just how much the batteries are used (which impacts downtime, maintenance, etc.).

But as the price of lithium-ion continues to fall, the economic case will be compelling just on the price of the batteries. When that happens, the age of lead-acid batteries will come to an end.