Lithium-ion batteries are a true disruptive technology on a multitude of fronts. In the portable technology global landscape, if you are not producing a product that can use lithium-ion batteries, you are dying on the consumer vine. It is getting nearly impossible to find a rechargeable handheld device that does not run on lithium-ion batteries. For consumers, the decision to power up with these batteries is long over, and we love it. We have more product choices than we’ve ever had. These devices are more powerful, are more versatile, and last longer on a single charge than we ever thought possible. As the world is in a race for alternative energy that is not a part of a grid that depends mostly on coal and other fossil fuels, here come lithium-ion battery systems that can be paired with solar/wind/wave energy creation systems to form “The Micro-Grid.” The great thing about this technology is there is absolutely zero downside—“guilt-free” energy creation, containment, and distribution—well, almost. When the batteries heat up; overcharge; get bumped too hard; or just don’t agree with the cheap, new, albeit knockoff charging device you bought online, they are catching fire.
To understand lithium-ion batteries, let’s start with the basics, the battery cells. The three most common cell designs for lithium-ion energy are as follows:
Lithium-ion polymer/pouch cell (photo 1). This is the most common type produced. It is found in electric vehicles (EVs), cell phones, and everything in between. The only real difference is in the dimensions of this battery and the number of them used in each device. For example, there may be 350 pouch cells used to make up the battery for an EV and only one small pouch required to power up your cell phone. The pouches will differ in size, but the voltage of each cell is consistently between 3.2v and 4.2v. For EVs, cell phones, tablets, and computer manufacturers, this is the most commonly used cell.
Written by Chris Greene, on Fire Engineering.