Lithium iron phosphate battery
Lithium iron phosphate battery

Lithium iron phosphate lithium-ion battery is referred to as lithium iron phosphate battery for short. Because of its performance, it is particularly suitable for power applications, namely lithium iron phosphate power batteries. Some people call it a “Lithium Iron (LiFe) Battery”.

Lithium phosphate battery working principle

The cathode materials of lithium-ion batteries mainly include lithium cobaltate, lithium manganate, lithium nickelate, ternary materials, lithium iron phosphate, and so on. Among them, lithium cobalt oxide is currently the cathode material used in most lithium-ion batteries. In principle, lithium iron phosphate is also an embedding and deintercalation process. This principle is identical to lithium cobaltate and lithium manganate.

The positive electrode of lithium-ion batteries is lithium iron phosphate material, which has great advantages in safety performance and cycle life. These are one of the most important technical indicators of power batteries. LiFepo4 batteries with 1C charging and discharging cycle life can be achieved almost 1800 times, the puncture does not explode, and it is not easy to burn and explode when the batteries are overcharged. Lithium iron phosphate cathode materials make large-volume lithium-ion batteries easier to use in series.

LiFepo4 battery
Lithium iron phosphate battery

Main performance

The nominal voltage of the LiFepo4 battery is 3.2V, the final charging voltage is 3.6V, and the final discharge voltage is 2.0V. Due to the different quality and technology of the positive and negative materials and electrolyte materials used by various manufacturers, there will be some differences in their performance. For example, the battery capacity of the same model (standard battery in the same package) is quite different (10%-20%).

What I want to explain here is that lithium iron phosphate power batteries produced by different factories have some differences in various performance parameters; in addition, some battery performance is not listed, such as battery internal resistance, self-discharge rate, charge, and discharge temperature, etc.

There are big differences in the capacity of lithium iron phosphate power batteries, which can be divided into three categories: small-scale from a few tenths to a few milliamperes, medium-scale tens of milliamp-hours, and large-scale hundreds of milliamp-hours. Similar parameters of different types of batteries also have some differences.

 Lithium phosphate battery advantages

1. Lithium phosphate battery high safety performance

The P-O bond in the lithium iron phosphate crystal is stable and difficult to decompose, and does not collapse or heat like a lithium cobaltate or form a strong oxidizing substance even at a high temperature or overcharge, and thus has excellent safety.

safety performance
safety performance

2. High charging and discharging efficiency

LiFepo4 battery is a lithium-ion secondary battery. One of the main purposes is for power batteries. It has great advantages over NI-MH and Ni-Cd batteries. LiFepo4 batteries have good charge and discharge efficiency, and the charge and discharge efficiency can reach over 92% under the discharging condition when the lead-acid battery is about 82%.

When the LiFePO4 battery is charged, the lithium-ion Li in the positive electrode migrates to the negative electrode through the polymer separator; during the discharging, the lithium-ion Li in the negative electrode migrates to the positive electrode through the separator.

3. Lithium phosphate battery long cycle life

Lifepo4 battery refers to a lithium-ion battery using lithium iron phosphate as a positive electrode material.

The long-lifespan lead-acid battery has a cycle life of about 310 times, and the highest is about 500 times. The lithium iron phosphate power battery has a cycle life of over 2010 times, and the standard charge (5-hour rate) can be used up to 2010 times.

Lead-acid batteries with the same quality are “new half a year, half a year old, and half a year for maintenance”, which is 1 to 1.5 years at most, while lithium iron phosphate batteries used under the same conditions will have a theoretical life of 7 to 8 years. In comprehensive consideration, the performance-price ratio is theoretically more than 4 times that of lead-acid batteries. High-current discharge can quickly charge and discharge high-current 2C. With a dedicated charger, the battery can be fully charged within 40 minutes of 1.5C charging, and the starting current can reach 2C, but lead-acid batteries have no such performance.

4. Lithium phosphate Battery High capacity

It has a larger capacity than ordinary batteries (lead-acid, etc.). The monomer capacity is 5AH-1000AH.

The capacity of rechargeable batteries will quickly fall below the rated capacity when working under the condition that they are often fully charged and not discharged. This phenomenon is called the memory effect. Like nickel-metal hydride and nickel-cadmium batteries, there is memory, but lithium iron phosphate batteries do not have this phenomenon. No matter what state the battery is in, it can be charged and used without having to discharge it first.

5. Good temperature performance

The peak temperature of lithium iron phosphate battery can reach 350 ° C -500 ° C while lithium manganate and lithium cobaltate are only around 200 ° C. Wide operating temperature range (-20C–+75C), with high-temperature resistance, lithium iron phosphate electric heating peak can reach 350 °C-500 °C, while lithium manganate and lithium cobalt oxide only at 200 °C.

6. Lightweight of lithium phosphate battery

The LiFepo4 battery of the same specification and capacity is 2/3 of the volume of the lead-acid battery, and the weight is 1/3 of the lead-acid battery.

7. Environmental protection of lithium phosphate battery

The lithium iron phosphate battery is generally considered to be free of any heavy metals and rare metals (the nickel-hydrogen battery requires rare metals), non-toxic (SGS certified), non-polluting, in line with European RoHS regulations, and an absolute green battery certificate. Therefore, the reason why lithium batteries are favored by the industry is mainly environmental considerations.

The performance of lithium-ion batteries depends mainly on the positive and negative materials. Lithium iron phosphate is a lithium battery material that has only appeared in recent years. Its safety performance and cycle life are incomparable to other materials. The most important technical indicators of the battery.

LiFepo4 battery has the advantages of being non-toxic, non-polluting, excellent safety performance, a wide range of raw materials, reasonable prices, and a long lifespan. It is an ideal cathode material for a new generation of lithium-ion batteries.

Environmental protection of LiFepo4 battery
Environmental protection of LiFepo4 battery

Conclusion:

While both lithium-ion and lithium iron phosphate batteries are reasonable choices, LiFePO4 batteries offer the best set of advantages to consumers and producers alike. While batteries have made great strides in the last twenty years, for solar power to advance to its full potential in the marketplace, energy storage solutions must rise to the occasion. With a longer shelf life, less environmental impact, higher stability, better performance, and lower cost, lithium iron phosphate batteries offer the best path forward. If you want to know more information about the best lithium phosphate battery, Feel free to contact our Maxworld Power.

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