,

The Key To Fully Flexible Electronics: Flexible Lithium Batteries

Flexible LiPO Battery

Flexible LiPO Battery

As Huawei and Samsung released the folding screen phones Mate X and Galaxy Fold respectively, they have a technologically-sense design and excellent hardware configuration. The unfolded area of the new folding screen mobile phone screen can reach more than 7.3 inches, which enhances the user experience. But in fact, a more disruptive, practical, and cost-effective mobile phone design is already on the way to development. It is a fully flexible wearable mobile phone.

Fully flexible mobile phones are dubbed “wrist phones” by the media. They are not limited to the folding of the middle part. They can bend the whole mobile phone freely, which is convenient to wear on the wrist and other parts to achieve better integration with the human body. The current folding screen mobile phones still use ordinary rigid batteries, avoiding the problem of using flexible batteries. If you want to introduce revolutionary fully flexible electronic devices, you must develop corresponding flexible power supplies and implant them. Therefore, the development of flexible lithium batteries with high energy density will be of great significance to promote the development of wearable flexible electronic devices.

The ideal flexible battery should have high flexibility, energy density, and power density at the same time. However, these factors often hinder each other in the flexible battery. In this review, this article made a detailed analysis based on the structural design of the battery components and the overall device level, and reviewed the latest developments in flexible lithium batteries, and summarized the current academic development ideas into the following four strategies:

1) Development of a deformable battery module with a porous structure

Such as porous current collectors, porous electrodes, flexible solid electrolytes, etc. Flexible porous structures are currently widely used in battery modules to cushion the strain generated when the battery device is subjected to bending and twisting.

1) Development of a deformable battery module with a porous structure

a) A conductive porous film of graphene oxide, which has a conductivity as high as 3112 S/cm. The flexible lithium battery assembled with this film as the current collector did not find a significant decrease in capacity after 100 cycles of high charge-discharge rate (5C).

b) A composite cathode material of single-walled carbon nanotubes and polymer (2,5-dihydroxy-1,1-benzoquinone sulfide) is used to assemble flexible lithium batteries. The flexible battery exhibits a specific discharge capacity of 182 mAh/g at low current (50 mA/g), and can still reach a specific capacity of 75 mAh/g when discharged at a large current (5000 mA/g).

c) Using bacterial cellulose as a template, develop a solid electrolyte composite of Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZO) and polyethylene oxide. The porous interconnected polymer matrix is ​​used as a mechanical carrier that is soft and strong, and the LLZO particles used to transport Li-ions are embedded in it. The overall display shows a high ionic conductivity of 1.12×10-4 S/cm and excellent mechanical flexibility.

2) Ultra-thin battery design

Such as single-pair (or double-pair) positive/separator/negative structure. Compared with strategy 1, strategy 2 (ultra-thin battery design) requires battery design from the overall device level.

Li-Po-Battery

a) The ultra-thin flexible lithium battery with a thickness of only 0.4mm released by Himax Battery can be applied to various wearable devices. Even after bending with a bending radius of 25 mm, or twisting to an angle of ±25 degrees for more than 1,000 times, this flexible battery can still maintain 99% of the capacity.

b) A Li4Ti5O12/LiPON/Li thin-film solid-state battery prepared based on the flame spray pyrolysis method with flexible polyimide as the supporting substrate. After charging and discharging at a rate of 1C and cycling in a flat, bent, and flatform for 90 times, the battery’s discharge capacity retention rate is still as high as 98%, showing excellent cycle performance.

3) Geometric topology battery design

Such as linear structure, Origami, Kirigami structure, etc. In addition to improving the flexibility of the battery component material itself, the battery structure designed by the principle of geometric topology can reduce the stress change generated in the battery during the deformation process.

Geometric topology battery design

a. This strategy was first reported in the work of its linear battery. The flexible battery can not only adapt to bending deformation, but also more complex shape changes, such as folding and twisting.

b. Using spring-like LiCoO2/reduced graphene oxide as the positive electrode material, combined with gel electrolyte, a self-healing flexible lithium battery was designed and assembled. Under complex deformation (bending and torsion), charging and discharging at a current density of 1 A/g, the battery can still maintain a discharge specific capacity of 82.6 mAh/g; even if the battery is cut and healed five times, the battery can still be The specific discharge capacity is 50.1 mAh/g.

c. In addition to linear structures, paper folding technology is also widely used in flexible batteries. With the Origami origami solution, a two-dimensional sheet material can be folded along a predetermined crease to create a compact and deformable three-dimensional structure that can withstand high-strength deformation.

d. Soon after, a Kirigami scheme was developed combining folding and cutting technology. After 100 charge-discharge cycles, the battery can achieve a capacity retention rate of more than 85% and a coulombic efficiency of 8%. After 3,000 battery deformations, the maximum output power of the battery has not been significantly reduced.

4) Decouple the flexible and energy storage parts of the battery

Such as spine battery, Zigzag battery, etc. For the above-mentioned flexible battery design, dislocation, peeling, and shedding between the active material and the current collector still occur during the complex deformation process. The increased overpotential and internal resistance of the battery due to poor contact will reduce the capacity retention rate and coulomb efficiency of the full battery, which is not conducive to the cycle performance of the battery. The potential solution is to redesign the battery architecture to separate energy storage and provide flexibility.

Decouple the flexible and energy storage parts of the battery

a. De Volder et al. demonstrated a layered tapered carbon nanotube structure, similar to the morning glory of a plant. The wide corolla is used to carry the positive and negative active material particles, and the slender stem part and the current collector are below. The parts are tightly combined. During the deformation of the battery, most of the stress is applied to the current collector itself, and the tapered structure hardly produces strain during this period, thus exhibiting extremely high flexibility. The Fe2O3/LiNi8Co0.2O2 full battery assembled with this tapered structure can be charged and discharged 500 times at a rate of 1C and still has a capacity retention rate of 88%.

b. Inspired by the good mechanical strength and flexibility of the animal spine, a method for large-scale production of high-energy-density flexible lithium-ion batteries: store energy by surrounding thick, rigid parts in the axial direction (corresponding to the spine), And the thin, non-circular flexible part (corresponding to the bone marrow and intervertebral disc) is used to connect the “spine”, thereby achieving good flexibility and high energy density of the entire device. Since the volume of the rigid electrode part is much larger than the flexible connection part, occupying more than 95% of the volume of the battery cell, the energy density of the whole battery can reach 242Wh/L. The reasonable bionic design makes it pass the strong dynamic mechanical load test.

Questions and answers from flexible lithium battery experts

Xie Ming, a well-known flexible lithium battery expert in the industry, accepted an exclusive interview from the material man. The following is the interview content.

Q: Based on the actual situation of current industrial production, please comment on the four flexible lithium battery development strategies summarized in the review.

A:  1) Development of flexible battery elements with porous structure carbon (nanotube) paper is used as a flexible current collector, the cost is relatively high, which is not easily accepted by manufacturers; secondly, when carbon paper is used as a negative current collector, its side reactions are very obvious. If a porous metal current collector (such as copper mesh, aluminum mesh, etc.) is used, its flexibility can meet actual needs, but during the coating process, the slurry easily penetrates from the mesh pores. The current development of related coating processes is still An important challenge facing the corporate world.

2) Ultra-thin battery design

In order to achieve stable mechanical flexibility and electrochemical performance, ultra-thin batteries mostly use single-pair (or double-pair) low-capacity (usually less than 60 mAh) design, so their application scenarios and markets are very limited. In order to make the battery thinner, GREPOW has introduced a mature technology ultra-thin battery. While meeting the actual requirements, the overall battery thickness can be less than 8mm, and the thinnest can reach 0.4mm. You can imagine this is like A battery as thin as paper.

3) Geometric topology battery design

The concept proposed by this strategy is very good, represented by the linear battery, its mechanical flexibility, and electrochemical performance can be guaranteed. At present, many research teams are committed to developing new types of fibrous and linear batteries to solve traditional bottlenecks. The fly in the ointment is that the positive electrode, negative electrode, and separator of this linear battery rely on self-synthesis, which is different from commercial battery components, which will increase production costs. In addition, most linear batteries use heat-shrinkable tubes instead of aluminum-plastic film packaging. The heat-shrinkable tube materials have a limited barrier to water vapor and oxygen, and it is difficult to meet actual needs in long-term use.

4) Decouple the flexible and energy storage parts of the battery

This strategy uses improved commercial battery components, which is of great significance to promote the development and production of flexible lithium batteries. As early as 14 years or so, some Chinese companies have begun to develop “bamboo-shaped” batteries that look similar to “spine” batteries. According to the latest literature report on “Zigzag” batteries, the energy density of flexible lithium batteries assembled with the “decoupling” strategy can reach 275 Wh/L. After the process optimization of industrial standards, the energy density can still be achieved. Room for improvement. At present, an MIT research group has developed a series of fully automatic and personalized battery pole piece winding equipment. It is believed that with the intervention of an intelligent manufacturing system (IMS) service providers, the shortcomings of this type of battery assembly process can be gradually overcome.

Q: Could you please introduce the application scenarios of flexible batteries in the future?

A: At present, flexible wearable devices are the largest application market for flexible batteries. Taking smartwatches as an example, many large consumer electronics manufacturers have proposed the idea of ​​implanting flexible batteries into smartwatch straps, removing the battery from the panel, and realizing an ultra-light and ultra-thin dial design. They hope that the capacity of the flexible battery can be close to 500 mAh, but the volume energy density of the more mature flexible lithium battery samples in the industry is about 300-400 Wh/L, which is temporarily difficult to achieve the above goal. In addition, in order to introduce the current in the watchband to the dial, it is necessary to design the circuit in the watchband, which will be a considerable investment in development.

In addition, fully flexible mobile phones will be an important application scenario for flexible lithium batteries in the future. A few days ago, Samsung released a new foldable mobile phone Galaxy Fold, but this phone still uses ordinary rigid batteries, avoiding the problem of using flexible batteries. If you want to launch a revolutionary fully flexible mobile phone, you must develop a high-capacity (more than 2000 mAh) flexible battery implanted in it. As mentioned in this review, energy density and mechanical flexibility are usually in a flexible battery. The combination of scientific experiments and theoretical simulation is used to deeply study the basic mechanical problems in flexible batteries. Development work is very helpful.

Q: Please talk about the core competitiveness of flexible batteries from the perspective of industrial applications.

A: Compared with traditional non-bendable batteries, the volumetric energy density of flexible batteries will definitely be affected. Therefore, flexible batteries must find their own application positioning, that is, place batteries in places where batteries could not be placed before, make full use of every effective space of electronic devices, and increase the standby time by increasing the overall battery capacity of electronic devices. This is another strategy to solve consumers’ anxiety about mobile phone standby when the energy density of lithium-ion battery materials has not been greatly developed.

In short, flexible batteries do have a broad potential application market. In recent years, well-known international companies such as Apple and Samsung have launched patent arrangements in related fields. However, most downstream electronic equipment manufacturers still expect to start the development of a fully flexible series of products after the flexible battery production technology has matured.

If you are interested in our products, please don’t hesitate to contact us at any time!

Email: sales@himaxelectronics.com

,

Factors That May Cause Premature Lithium-polymer Battery Failures

LiPO Battery

LiPO Battery

Introduce you to the factors that cause lithium-polymer batteries to fail and how to prevent them from failure. Some approaches that can maximize lipo batteries’ life will also be included.

Cycle life

Generally speaking, the standard service life of a lithium polymer battery is 3 years, and the number of cycles ranges from 300-500. The cycle life of a battery does not mean that the battery will be completely unusable at the end of that number but that the discharge efficiency and capacity of the battery will be reduced accordingly. The range for the number of cycles usually refers to the battery’s capacity retention of 80%. Improper usage may result in a  reduced cycle life, thus resulting in a premature battery failure.

Self-discharge

Lithium batteries will naturally undergo self-discharge from the moment they’re produced regardless of whether they are being stored, transported, or connected to a device. Thus, it’s very important to ensure that the battery is checked and cycled every three months to prevent any deep discharges. Once a battery has been discharged beyond its standard voltage platform, it’ll be impossible to recover without damaging the internals, resulting in premature battery failure from over discharging.

Overcharging

Another factor of premature failure is overcharging. Overcharging may cause a battery to swell or even catch on fire. A typical lithium battery has a fully charged voltage of 4.2V unless it’s a specially formulated Lithium High-Voltage battery that is otherwise known as LiHv. Fun fact: Grepow’s High Voltage batteries can produce batteries that charge up to 4.45V without causing damage to the battery’s cycle life.

The BMS, is a great way to prevent overcharging and overdischarging thus preventing possible premature battery failure.

Inappropriate temperature

Utilizing a battery at inappropriate temperatures is another factor that could cause premature battery failure. Under low temperatures, the chemical reactions within the battery become sluggish, which results in plating. Under high temperatures, the electrolytes will have difficulty maintaining their liquid form causing evaporation and ultimately making the battery short circuit.

Violent damage

As always, drops and punctures to a battery can undoubtedly damage it. Avoiding the undesirable factors mentioned here will allow you to fully maximize the potential and lifespan of a Lithium Polymer battery.

,

Lithium Iron Phosphate Vs Lithium Cobalt Oxide

Li-ion-Vs-Lifepo4

Li-ion-Vs-Lifepo4

Lithium Cobalt Oxide batteries and lithium iron phosphate batteries are the most widely used formulas for both LiPo (Lithium Polymer) and Li-Ion (Lithium Ion).

What difference between Lithium Iron Phosphate and Lithium Cobalt Oxide? This video will help you to know that.

The cycle life of Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries are more than 4 to 5 times that of Lithium Cobalt Oxide batteries, and is safer; however, its disadvantage is the lower discharge platform and energy density. The nominal voltage of Lithium Iron Phosphate is 3.2V, the full voltage is 3.65V, but the nominal voltage of Lithium Cobalt Oxide battery is 3.7V, and the full voltage is 4.2V.

The difference between 3.2V and 3.7V may not seem like much, but when we connect cells in series to make a 12V battery pack, only 3 cells are needed for Lithium Cobalt Oxide cells and 4 cells for Lithium Iron Phosphate cells, which makes a difference in cost and weight.

In addition, these two types of batteries are quite different in terms of cycle life, energy density, and safety performance.

The Energy Density

The energy density of Lithium Cobalt Oxide is higher than that of Lithium Iron Phosphate resulting in better Watt-hours Wh/kg and Watt-hours Wh/Liter.

A Lithium Cobalt Oxide battery (LCO) is a type of rechargeable battery, combined with a microporous separator with electrolyte, it mainly relies on the movement of lithium ions between positive electrode and negative electrode. Lithium batteries use an intercalated lithium compound as an electrode material.

A Lithium Iron Phosphate battery (LiFePO4) is a type of LiPo battery that uses Lithium Iron Phosphate as the anode material and a graphite carbon based electrode with a metallic backing as the cathode. It has a wide range of raw material sources, a long cycle life, a high safety index, excellent thermal, chemical stability, and outstanding high temperature resistance.

The Cycle Life

In terms of cycle life, Lithium Cobalt Oxide generally can reach 500 cycles, and the cycle times of Lithium Iron Phosphate are longer. This is a major feature of Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries, which can reach 1500 to 2000 cycles or more. The Lithium Iron Phosphate battery can also reach 100% depth of discharge. Therefore, a good Lithium Iron Phosphate battery can last from 3 to 7 years under regulated use.

The Safety Performance

In terms of safety, Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries are far safer than Lithium Cobalt Oxide batteries.

Lithium Cobalt Oxide batteries have the advantage of high current charging and discharging, and they allow devices to release more energy in a short period of time. Lithium Cobalt Oxide with high discharge rates can achieve continuous discharge rates of up to 50C and pulse discharge rates of up to 150C. They are 40% lighter than a steel-cased lithium-ion battery of the same capacity and 20% lighter than an aluminum-cased battery. These make them more useful for racing applications and power tools, such as RC models and UAVs.

Generally speaking, Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries are not capable of high current discharge, as they are mostly used in energy storage applications, like UPS and solar energy storage systems. But Grepow’s Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries can be discharged at a high rate, with a continuous current of up to 40C, which is suitable for applications such as boat racing, jump starters and powersports.

Shaped Battery

LiPo batteries can be made into a variety of shapes, and are well suited for watches, headphones, rings and other devices that require a high degree of form. However, the voltage and energy density of Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries are lower than those of other Lithium Cobalt Oxide batteries.

 

,

Wide Temperature-Range Ni-MH Battery

1800mah-Nimh

NI-MH 2200mah AA

Temperature has one of the greatest impacts on the charge and discharge performance of batteries. The electrode/electrolyte interface is considered the heart of the battery, and the electrochemical reactions at this interface are closely related to the ambient temperature. If the temperature drops, the reaction rate of the electrode also drops.

When NiMH batteries are charged and discharged, multiple factors must be considered: the surrounding environment of the batteries but especially battery performance and service life under extreme temperatures.

We will explore what occurs to NiMH batteries, particularly wide temperature-range NiMH batteries, when under low and high temperatures.

Wide temperature-range NiMH batteries

Wide temperature-range NiMH batteries, as their name implies, are a type of NiMH batteries with a wide working-temperature range and excellent performance at -40°C to 80°C. In other words, these batteries can operate efficiently at both low and high temperatures, and their temperature limitations are greatly reduced.

Under low temperatures

The discharge efficiency of ordinary nickel-hydrogen batteries are significantly reduced at low temperatures. At -20°C, the lye reaches its freezing point and the battery charging speed greatly diminishes. Charging at low temperatures (below 0°C) increases the internal pressure of the battery and possibly causes the safety valve to open.

In order to charge effectively, the ambient temperature range must be controlled between 5℃ to 30℃. Generally, charging efficiency increases with the rise of temperature. However, when the temperature rises above 45℃, the performance of the battery degrades, and the cycle life of the battery greatly shortens.

Under low temperatures, the viscosity of electrolyte becomes higher, the proton transfer rate inside the electrode becomes slower, and the ohmic internal resistance also increases, which leads to larger polarization of the battery during discharge. Some batteries cannot discharge at low temperatures due to large polarization.

Under high temperatures

Under high temperature, the viscosity of the electrolyte decreases, and the hydrophilic ability of various materials increases. Liquid absorption also increases, which leads to the expansion of the electrode sheet, and liquid starts to leak from poor electrical receptivity.

The following is the electrochemical principle of charging and discharging Ni-MH batteries with KOH as the electrolyte (7moL/LKOH+15g/LLiOH).

Charge

Positive Pole: Ni(OH)2+OH-→NiOOH+H2O+e-

Negative Pole: M+H2O+e-→MH+OH-

Total Response: M+Ni(OH)2→MH+NiOOH

Discharge

Positive Pole: NiOOH+H2O+e-→Ni(OH)2+OH-

Negative Pole: MH+OH-→M+H2O+e-

Total Response: MH+NiOOH→M+Ni(OH)2

In the above formula, M is the hydrogen storage alloy and MH is the hydrogen storage alloy with adsorbed hydrogen atoms. The most commonly used hydrogen storage alloy is LaNi5.

Characteristics of a wide temperature-range Ni-MH battery

The following are a couple of the characteristics of a Grepow’s wide temperature-range Ni-MH battery:

The charging and discharging efficiency of 0.2C at -40℃ can reach 80%

The charging and discharging efficiency of 0.2C at 80℃ can reach 85%

Ni-MH battery technology has been tried, tested and proven for commercial and industrial applications especially in automotive batteries and outdoor power supplies in high and cold temperatures. Its safety and reliability are unparalleled in the market.

Grepow Inc. offers a variety of Ni-MH batteries with a wide temperature range. These batteries provide new electrode-development technologies that can achieve a long life, and they have good usability and stability with compatible sizes.

,

UK’s Largest Battery Storage Project At 640MWh Gets Go Ahead From Government

A render if what the DP World London Gateway project will look like when completely constructed, based on Fluence’s sixth-generation Gridstack system design. Image: InterGen.

The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) in the UK has given the green light to the country’s biggest ever battery storage project.

InterGen has gained planning permission for a 320MW / 640MWh lithium-ion battery site at DP World London Gateway, a new port and logistics centre on the Thames Estuary in Essex, south-east England. The £200 million (US$267 million) project will also have the potential for further expanding, as far as 1.3GWh.

Fluence is providing the technology for the site, having worked in partnership with InterGen for the past two years following a competitive tender process. The companies initially signed an exclusivity agreement for another project at Spalding, which was since been extended to the Gateway project.

According to the company, this puts it at 10 times the size of the largest battery currently operating in the UK. Indeed it will dwarf the UK’s biggest active project so far, the 50MW / 75MWh Thurcroft battery storage site in South Yorkshire, which was recently acquired by stock exchange listed specialist fund Gresham House Energy Storage.

In terms of international context, the world’s largest battery project already under development is Vistra Energy’s Moss Landing project in California, which is permitted for an eventual 400MW / 1,600MWh, to be built in phases. The world’s largest project in operation today is the Gateway project developed by LS Power, also in California. That project is currently at 230MW output and 230MWh capacity, as of August, with a futher expansion to 250MW / 250MWh already underway. Australian utility AGL recently said it is planning a 250MW battery storage project with up to 1,000MWh of capacity, while The Red Sea Development Company, developing a huge luxury resort in Saudi Arabia said last week that it plans to use 1,000MWh of battery storage to integrate local renewable energy resources.

With the share of renewables continuing to grow, the need to balance the grid through the use of technologies such as storage is continuing to grow alongside it. As such, InterGen’s battery – which is set to be used to support and stabilise existing electricity supplies – will represent a major piece of the system architecture.

Image: InterGen.

InterGen CEO Jim Lightfoot said the company was “delighted” to be granted consent for the Gateway project, as its mission was to deliver the “flexible electricity solutions” needed for a low carbon world.

“We are excited to be entering a new phase in our growth as an organisation, and will continue to explore opportunities to develop projects which can support the energy transition.”

Till recently, large scale energy storage projects were not possible in the UK, as planning legislation limited storage project to 50MW in England and 350MW in Wales. These were relaxed in July, to help increase flexibility.

InterGen’s storage project will become one of the largest in the world, topping the biggest single-site battery project currently, a 250MW site switched on in August in California by its developer, infrastructure company LS Power.

Construction of the DP Word London Gateway is expected to get under way in 2022, and the battery to become operational in 2024.

Additionally, InterGen is looking to develop another large scale battery project at its site in Spalding, Lincolnshire. This would be a 175MW / 350MWh site, and planning permission is already in place.

The Edinburgh-headquartered independent energy generator currently supplies around 5% of the UK’s generating capacity, with natural gas sites in Coryton in Essex (800MW), Spalding in Lincolnshire (1,250MW) and Rocksavage in Cheshire (810MW).

A version of this story for local audiences was first published on Solar Power Portal. 

,

Best LiFePO4 Battery For RV Application

RV-Battery

RV-Battery

Low-Temperature LiFePO4 Battery: Why It’s Best For RV

Like humans, batteries could function their best at room temperature. Low-temperature batteries like Lithium Iron Phosphate, like the LifePO4 Battery manufactured by Himax, could be useful for RVs. These good batteries can work well in a temperature range of about –40℃ to 50℃. That’s why these batteries are ideal for RV application because these are specially-made, low-temperature batteries that are ideal for longer use in, particularly cold environments.

Perhaps you want to know deeper about what LiFePO4 Battery has to offer. In this article, you will understand how the low-temperature LifePO4 batteries work, and why it is ideal for any RVs. You will also know its features to help you understand this product.

Benefits of Using Low-Temperature LiFePO4 Batteries 

When it comes to powering your RV, perhaps you want to consider Grepow’s Low-temperature LiFePO4 Batteries. Here are the benefits when you opt to use these kinds of batteries.

  • LiFePO4 batteries are safer and even more practical for low-temperature
  • It can be charged at temperature down to 0℃
  • It features proprietary technology which draws excellent power from the charger itself
  • The process of charging and heating is seamless for users
  • Internal heating and monitoring system are easy to process
  • Environmentally friendly and proven safe for use in any system
  • Customizable (Voltage, Capacity, Size, BMS)
  • Provides your RV a high energy density
  • The cycle life could reach thousands of cycles

LiFePO4 battery Features 

Understanding your battery’s features is essential to know if it’s compatible with your RV. Check out the Himax’s Low-Temperature LiFePO4 features to know how it delivers more power and longer life.

Himax LifePO4 battery 0.2C discharge at -20 to -40 degree temperature
  • Very good temperature resistance; the range of operating temperature is from -40℃to 50℃.
  • The discharge current at 0.2C is over 85% of initial capacity at -20℃, 85% at -30℃, around 55% at -40℃.
  • Has a higher capacity than other similar-sized lead-acid batteries.
  • A good drop-in replacement for lead-acid batteries
  • It comes with a longer life cycle compared to other lithium-ion batteries.
  • Can reach up to 2000 times life cycle

LiFePO4 battery Applications

One good thing about the Himax’s LiFePO4 battery is that it can be used or applied to various equipment. It’s widely used in fields that require low-temperature applications like:

  • Medical Equipment
  • Drones/UAVs
  • Remote Controls for Passion and Hobbies
  • Industrial Applications
  • Powersports
  • Energy Storage (Home Solar, Outdoor, Marine)

Conclusion

Having a reliable and best battery for RV applications like Himax’s LiFePO4 Batteries can give you the best RV experience. Now that you know its benefits and features, perhaps you will consider the LiFePO4 battery from Grepow because it’s not only reliable but it’s also very helpful to maintain your RVs longevity.

Hopefully, you could understand the features and how low-temperature batteries work for your RV. Don’t hesitate to get something like Himax low-temperature batteries; always use your units and equipment with confidence because you know that batteries could withstand low-temperature applications.

, ,

How to Extend the Life Of Standard Lithium-ion Battery?

In today’s mobile world, standard lithium-ion batteries are used in a myriad of situations, and battery life comes to be precious. It can be especially annoying when a mobile device has to be charged in a public place with only one available outlet.

There are many reports on how to save battery power, but what can we do to extend battery life? Here are a few ways that Himax has you covered.

Keep the battery at room temperature

Store the battery between 20 to 25℃. During the charging process, the temperature of the battery will increase due to the electric current. Therefore, do not leave your battery in the car or charge it if the temperature inside the car is too high. Heat is the biggest factor in shortening the life of a lithium battery.

Consider purchasing a high-capacity rectangle lithium battery

Standard rectangular rechargeable batteries will degrade over time regardless of whether they are used or not. As a result, spare batteries will not last longer than batteries in use. When purchasing a battery, be sure to ask about the latest manufacturing date of the product.

rectangular pouch batteries

Avoid completely discharging the lithium battery

If the discharge voltage of each cell of a standard lithium-ion battery falls below 2.5V, the safety circuit built into the battery will break, and the battery will appear to be depleted. For safety reasons, do not charge an over-discharged lithium-ion battery if it has been stored under these conditions.

Lithium-ion polymer batteries charging

If you are storing the lithium batteries for an extended period of time, store them at a storage charge in a cool place. Only by storing the battery properly can excessive power consumption be minimized and the life of the battery extended.

Stay tuned for more battery technology or visit Grepow’s Website now: https://www.grepow.com/

, ,

High C-rate Ni-MH Batteries

NI-MH-Battery

NI-MH-Battery-Pack

A nickel metal hydride (Ni-MH) battery is similar to a nickel cadmium (NiCd) battery, but it has higher capacity, less memory effect, and lower environmental pollution (or more simply, it doesn’t have the toxic cadmium) than the NiCd battery. Its recycling efficiency is better than that of lithium-ion batteries, and it is known as the most environmentally friendly battery.

The discharge performance of NiMH batteries can also meet the needs of most electronic products, and it is particularly suitable for products that require stable voltage over long discharge times.

High C-rate

Typically, high C-rate Ni-MH batteries can be charged at 1C and be fully charged in just over an hour. When discharged with a current of 5C, the median voltage of the battery can reach more than 1.24V and still discharge over 90% of its capacity.

Ni-MH batteries are efficient in their fast charging and high current-discharge performance, which makes them especially suitable for the high current discharge of electrical appliances, such as power tools, large toys (car toys, remote control aircraft) and so on.

Charging efficiency

The charging efficiency is the ratio of the capacity of a battery discharged under certain discharge conditions up to a certain cut-off voltage to the capacity of the battery input, which can be calculated according to the following formula:

Ni-MH battery's charging efficiency formula | Grepow
the battery’s charging efficiency formula

Because the input energy is partially consumed in the side reaction to produce oxygen, the charging efficiency is affected by the charging rate and the environmental temperature. The charging current must be within a certain range when charging: if the current is too small or too large, the charging efficiency will be low.

High charge rate

A Ni-MH cell has many similar characteristics to its NiCd counterpart, and it also follows a similar discharge curve to that of the NiCd. However, the Ni-MH battery is intolerant of overcharging, which can result in reduced capacity.

In order to ensure the best battery life, 1C charging is the recommended charging rate. After fast charging, it is recommended to use 0.03-0.05C trickle charging to compensate for self-discharge and maintain battery capacity.

High discharge rate

Himax’s Ni-MH batteries can offer up to 2 times the C-rate of similarly sized, standard NiCd batteries. Due to their higher discharge rate and energy density characteristics, users can use Himax’s Ni-MH batteries in more powerful devices and applications.

The following picture is the discharge curve of :

NiMH UP43SC2000 Performance Measurement Data Plots | Grepow
UP43SC2000-15C Performance Measurement Data Plots

Here are some specifications of Himax Ni-MH battery:

specifications of Grepow NiMH battery

There are three different series for Himax’s Ni-MH batteries that correspond to thor different discharge rates:

LP series, which stands for low power, means that the medium discharge rate is within a 5C rating. HP series stands for high power, and it has a discharge rating of 10C. Finally, the UP series, standing for ultra high power, has a discharge rate of 15C or more.

The above information comes from Himax, the manufacturer of Ni-MH, LiPO, and LiFe batteries. For more information, please further explore our blog or contact us at sales@himaxelectronics.com.

,

Advantages of Lithium-ion Batteries

Recycle-Lithium-Batteries

Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries are inarguably the most popular type of rechargeable battery for consumer electronics. They can be used for a variety of products from mobile phones to cars, and their qualities are superior compared to other rechargeable batteries.

At NightSearcher we use high-quality lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries for all but a few of our rechargeable flashlights, searchlights, head torches, and floodlights, as they allow us to provide the high-performance, durable products our customers are used to.

Below we’ve listed the biggest advantages of lithium-ion batteries from the customers’ point of view and delved into the science behind each characteristic.

 

Eco-friendly:

Lithium-ion batteries contain relatively low levels of toxic heavy metals found in other types of batteries, such as lead-acid and nickel-cadmium (NiCd) batteries. Cadmium, lead, and mercury have been battery stalwarts for years, but prolonged exposure to, and inadequate disposal of these metals is harmful to humans, animals, and plants. Although Li-ion batteries are safer than many other types of batteries they still require proper recycling, so never put your used batteries in with your regular rubbish.

Lightweight and compact:

Electrodes commonly used in lithium-ion batteries, lithium and carbon, are lightweight on their own, making for much smaller and lighter batteries than their older counterparts such as lead-acid batteries. For comparison’s sake, a typical 51Ah (= ampere-hour) lithium-ion battery weighs about the same as a 24Ah lead-acid battery (about 6-7kg), but provides over twice the capacity.
This particular characteristic of lithium-ion batteries is especially convenient in head torches, as we can increase the light output and runtime significantly without adding bulk and weight to the battery pack (and on your head!).

 

High energy density = A bigger punch:

Lithium is a highly reactive element with the ability to release and store large amounts of energy, allowing li-ion batteries to pack a high energy capacity in a small size. This translates to lithium-ion batteries lasting much longer between charges than other rechargeable batteries, while still maintaining their high level of performance.

A typical lithium-ion cell (= battery) has an average cell voltage of 3.6V, whereas a nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) cell averages at 1.2V, meaning three Ni-MH batteries are required to match the output of a single lithium-ion battery.

 

Low maintenance:

Older types of rechargeable batteries, such as nickel-cadmium or nickel-metal hydride batteries had a so-called “memory effect”, or “lazy battery effect”: If they were repeatedly partially discharged before being recharged, ultimately the battery would only deliver the amount of energy that was used during the partial discharges before its voltage would drop. To avoid this, NiCd and NiMH batteries would need to be regularly maintained by completely discharging and recharging them.

Lithium-ion batteries don’t suffer from the memory effect, which means they always give up their last bit of power, and you can recharge them whether you’ve used 100% or 25% of their capacity with no pesky maintenance needed!

 

More charge cycles:

Quality lithium-ion batteries last about a 1000 full charge cycles. A full charge cycle is when the battery is discharged to flat and then recharged to full, so using your battery until it’s at 75% capacity and then plugging it into recharge doesn’t constitute a full charge cycle. When your battery has recharged back to full, you can still use the 75% of the capacity that you were left with before you recharged your battery; only then has your battery gone through a full charge cycle.

 

Low self-discharge rate

Lithium-ion batteries also have a relatively low self-discharge rate. Self-discharge is a natural, irreversible phenomenon for batteries, where chemical reactions inside the batteries reduce their capacity even when the battery is not being used. The self-discharge rate of lithium-ion batteries peaks at about 5% within the first 24 hours after charging the battery, and then tapers off to 1-2% per month. In comparison, nickel-based rechargeable batteries lose about 10-15% of their capacity after charge and another 10-15% per month.

,

The Difference Between Cylindrical, Prismatic And Pouch Cell Batteries

Cylindrical,-Prismatic-and-Pouch-Cell-Batteries

Cylindrical,-Prismatic-and-Pouch-Cell-Batteries

There are three main packaging forms of lithium batteries: they are cylindrical, prismatic and pouch cell packages. Each packaging has its own advantages and disadvantages, which we will review in today’s article.

Cylindrical Lithium Battery

There are many types of cylindrical cells, such as 14650, 17490, 18650, 21700, 26500 and so on. Many car models use this type of battery; Tesla, for instance, uses a 21700 cylindrical battery for its Model 3.

Advantage

The technology behind cylindrical lithium batteries have been around for quite some time, so the yield and consistency of the pack is high. The cost of these packs are also low, which allows them to be suitable for mass production. The cylindrical battery is particularly convenient for its variety of combinations and suitability for electric-vehicle designs.

Disadvantage

On the other hand, these batteries are usually packaged in steel or aluminum shells, making them heavy with a low specific energy.

Application

These batteries can be applied to power tools, toy models, digital electronic products, laptops, lamps, and other portable mobile energy systems.

Prismatic Lithium Battery

The packaging shell of a prismatic lithium battery is mostly made of aluminum alloy and stainless steel. The inner part of the battery adopts a winding or laminating process. The structure is relatively simple, and the production process is not complicated.

Advantage

Compared with cylindrical lithium batteries, these batteries are safer. Because they are not like cylindrical batteries that use higher strength stainless steel as the shell and accessories with explosion-proof safety valves, the overall weight is lighter, and the energy density is relatively higher.

Disadvantage

There is a low automation level due to the difficulty in having so many different types of lithium batteries. The monomers are also quite different, and there may be cases where groups of prismatic lithium battery packs are far below the life of a single lithium battery.

Application

These packs can be applied to electric vehicles, communication-based stations, energy storage, medical fields, etc.

Pouch Cell Lithium Battery

There is little differentiation between the positive electrode, negative electrode material and separator that are used in pouch cell lithium batteries, cylindrical and prismatic lithium batteries. The biggest difference between them is the packaging material, aluminum-plastic film.

The packaging materials are usually divided into three layers: the outer barrier (usually an outer protective layer composed of nylon BOPA or PET), the middle barrier (a middle layer consisting of aluminum foil) and the inner layer (a multifunctional layer).

Advantage

The aluminum-plastic film packaging has a certain degree of flexibility. When a safety problem occurs, the pouch cell battery will bulge up and crack but will not explode or cause a fire because the gas cannot be released.

Disadvantage

However, most pouch cells need to be customized. Currently, the manufacturers that can customize pouch cell batteries are Gateway Power, Himax and so on.

Application

The applications are in smartphones, drones, wearable devices, automotive industry, military fields, etc.

In general, the cylindrical, prismatic and pouch cell batteries have their own advantages and disadvantages. Each battery has its own leading field and has been well applied.