A clear comparison of six main lithium ion battery types

1. What are six main lithium ion battery types?
2. What are advantages and drawbacks of six lithium ion battery types?
3. Is lithium used in all types of batteries?
4. How do we choose different lithium ion battery types?
5. What is the best type of lithium-ion battery?
6. What type of battery lasts the longest?
7. How can we divide the lithium ion battery types according to the shape?
8. What lithium ion battery types does Tesla use?

As we know, there are various types of battery, do you know about them? Some knowledge about lithium ion battery types will be illustrated in the following.

1. What are six main lithium ion battery types?

There are different types of lithium ion batteries. And different types of battery have different features and applications.

• Lithium Cobalt Oxide: It is made from lithium carbonate and cobalt. It can also be called lithium cobaltate or lithium-ion cobalt batteries. Cathode is made of cobalt oxide and anode consists of graphite carbon. And it has a layered structure. Lithium ions travel from anode to the cathode for discharging, with the reverse flow for charging. It is used in laptops, mobiles, and electronic cameras.
• Lithium Manganese Oxide (LMO): It is also called lithium manganate, lithium-ion manganese or manganese spinel battery. Cathode is normally made of lithium manganese oxide. It is used in medical equipment, power tools, and electric motorcycles.
• Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP): It is also called LifePO4 battery. Cathode is made of phosphate. It is mostly used in portable and stationary, applications requiring high load current and durability. It is the most common lithium-ion battery on the market, with superior performance and high safety, so it has a very broad application scenario. Lithium iron phosphate batteries are suitable for almost all electrical equipment.
• Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (NMC): Cathode is made of mixture of cobalt, nickel and manganese. Generally speaking, the cathode is composed of a combination of 1/3 nickel, 1/3 manganese and 1/3 cobalt. It is used mostly in E bike, motorcycles, electric scooter etc.
• Lithium Nickel Cobalt Aluminum Oxide: It is also called NCA battery.
• Lithium Titanate: It is also called li-titanate. It is used in the military and aerospace applications.

2. What are advantages and drawbacks of six types of lithium battery?

            Advantages:

• • Lithium Cobalt Oxide battery have high specific energy.
  • Lithium manganate cathode material has the characteristics of low cost, good safety and high power, but the cycle life is relatively short, especially the high temperature life is difficult to meet the demand of power battery, so the current application is relatively limited.
  • Lithium Iron Phosphate battery have advantage of long cycle lifeand durability and high safety. In all lithium-ion batteries, lithium-iron phosphate batteries have a relatively good tolerance for some abuse conditions such as overcharging and high temperature.
  • Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide battery is cost-effectivedue to cobalt replacement.
  • Lithium Nickel Cobalt Aluminum Oxide battery provideshigh-energy choice and long lifespan.
  • Lithium Titanate battery gives rapid recharging time due to its powerful nanotechnology.

             Drawbacks:

• • Lithium Cobalt Oxide have low battery life and low  thermal stability and limited load capacity.
  • Lithium Manganese oxide battery system have low capacity as compared to cobalt based.
  • Lithium Iron Phosphate battery contains lower energy densityas compared to other lithium batteries.
  • Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide battery has less safety, more sensitive to high temperature.
  • Lithium Nickel Cobalt Aluminum Oxidebattery is less safe and more expensive.
  • Lithium Titanate battery havelow energy density and  high cost.

3. Is lithium used in all lithium ion battery types?

Lithium batteries are used most commonly. They give superior energy density as compared to other batteries. The mAh ratings are higher than other non-rechargeable batteries. Lithium-Ion batteries are very popular and most frequently used rechargeable batteries in big companies of the world like Tesla. No. There are also other types of batteries listed above.

• Alkaline batteries are easy to discard and very popular. They are environment friendly because of the absence of lead, mercury. They work well at higher temperatures. They have small capacity, can not be used repeatedly
• Carbon Zinc batteries are very inexpensive but contain very low energy density.
• Silver Oxide batteries are commonly entertained in small devices like wrist watch.
• Zinc Air batteries are used in hearing aids.

4. How do we choose different lithium ion battery types?

• Application: We choose a specific type of battery according to our application. In our mobiles or laptops, to reduce the mass and volume, we use ternary lithium batteries with very high energy density. Due to high temperature stability, lithium iron phosphate is chosen in medical devices.
• Voltage: Actual voltage showing at the terminals should be enough for required application.
• Charging-discharging cycle: For charging-discharging cycle, we should check: 1) Voltage required for the charging; 2) Time required for the charging; 3) Charging source
• Safety precautions for the charging/discharging

5. What is the best type of lithium-ion battery?

Lithium iron phosphate battery. There are many factors:

1. High security
2. Long lifespan
3. Maintenance free
4. Low self-discharge
5. No memory effect

6. What type of battery lasts the longest?

Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery shows the longest life cycle, which has 4,000 times. Besides these, LFP also has high safety, light weight, environmental protection, high temperature resistance.

7. How can we divide the lithium ion battery types according to the shape?

Lithium-ion cells are linked in series and parallel, forming final assembly of battery pack. Cell properties conclude size, voltage, weight and capacity. Lithium-ion cells can be divided into three shapes:

1. Cylindrical
2. Prismatic
3. Pouch Shape of lithium-polymer cells

18650 (Diameter:18mm, Tall:65mm), 21700 (Diameter:21mm, Tall:70mm) are standard formats of cylindrical cells that are metal-encased. They are packaged in metal can. Prismatic cells are cost-effective. They are also packaged in metal can. They have Large monomer capacity and good stability. Lithium-polymer cell are also known as “Pouch” cells. They can be availed in the form of custom. They can be bulky or thin according to the format required. Its primary advantage is availability of wide range of form factors. Cells are encased in pouches. Pouches are made of aluminum foil laminate that is inflexible. These pouches thickness is nearly 5mm which is very low if we compare it with aluminum or steel cans as 0.25-0.40mm. In the last few years, cells of personal computers are changed from cylindrical to lithium-polymer in order to make laptops thinner and lighter.

8.What lithium ion battery types does Tesla use?

Lithium-Ion batteries are mostly used. Three main cathodes types are used in Tesla electric vehicles:

1. Nickel-Cobalt-Aluminum (NCA)
2. Nickel-Cobalt-Manganese (NCM)
3. Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP)
4. First two contain high energy density. Tesla uses them for long range versions of car.
5. LFP is low energy density type. Tesla is using it for entry level models. Tesla have used LFP battery in the China. It will be incorporated in single-motor(rear-wheel-drive) vehicles of Tesla.

9. Conclusion

Lithium-ion batteries demand is reaching on its peak in the near future. Due to long life cycle, LFP batteries are getting more attentions. Replacing lead-acid batteries with lithium-ion batteries has become a big trend.