Are all the lithium ion batteries the same?

26 Aug 2021

NO. In fact there are a group of related family chemistries. The battery industry highlights six common variants along with the chemistry characteristic details of those most applicable for your application. Below the 6 common types of lithium ion battery are shown in the table:

Chemistry	Lithium Cobalt Oxide	Lithium Manganese Oxide	Lithium Nickel Manganese	Lithium Iron Phosphate	Lithium Nickel Cobalt Aluminum Oxide	Lithium Titanate
Short form	Li-Cobalt	Li-Manganese	NMC	Li-Phosphate	Li-Aluminum	Li-Titanate
Abbreviation	LiCoC2 (LCO)	LiMn2O4 (LMO)	LiNiMnCoO2 (NMC)	LiFePO4 (LFP)	LiNiCoAlO2 (NCA)	Li2TiO3 (LTO)
Comments	High energy, limited power. Market share has stabilized.	High power, less capacity; safer than Li-cobalt; often mixed with NMC to improve performance.	High capacity and high power. Common in consumer devices. Also NCM, CMN, MNC, MCN.	Flat discharge voltage, high power low capacity, very safe; elevated Self-discharge.	Highest capacity with moderate power. Similar to Li-cobalt.	Long life, fast charge, wide temperature range and safe. Low capacity, Expensive.

Here, we are going to discuss about the 2 most popular types of Lithium batteries.

Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP)
This lithium-ion design leverages iron phosphate. The chemistry tends to provide excellent safety, long life, a relatively modest specific energy, lower voltage patterns, a higher self-discharge, and the ability to operate at higher temperatures. The quick charge feature of LFP batteries can be a noticeable benefit for applications that experience more frequent power failures when compared to slower charging VRLA batteries.

LITHIUM IRON PHOSPHATE: LiFePO4 cathode, graphite anode Short Form: LFP or Li-phosphate, Since 1996
Voltage, nominal	3.20V, 3.30V
Specific Energy (capacity)	90-120Wh/kg
Charge (C-rate)	1C typical, charges to 3.65V; 2.5-3h charge time typical
Discharge (C-rate)	1C, 25C on some cells; 40A pulse (2s); 2.50V cut-off (lower that 2V causes damage)
Cycle life	3000-5000 (related to depth of discharge, temperature)
Thermal runaway	270ºC (518 ºF) Very safe battery even if fully charged
Applications	Portable and stationary needing high load currents and endurance
Comments	Very flat voltage discharge curve. One of safest Li-ions. Used for special markets. Elevated self-discharge

Lithium Nickel Cobalt Manganese (NMC)

These lithium ion based chemistry use manganese. NMC provides high energy density performance and good specific energy behavior. And because of these advantages these batteries are preferred to be used mostly in LEV applications.
But as manganese is a very reactive material, that's why these batteries are actually little risky to be used if the surrounding environment is not that safe. Especially in high temperature or air pressure scenario, these batteries have little risk factors.

LITHIUM NICKEL MANGANESE COBALT OXIDE: LiNiMnCoO2,cathode, graphite anode Short Form: NMC (NCM, CMN, MNC, MCN similar with different metal combinations) Since 2008
Voltage, nominal	3.60V, 3.70V
Specific Energy (capacity)	150-220Wh/kg
Charge (C-rate)	0.7-1C, charges to 4.20V, some go to 4.30V; 3h charge typical. Charge current above 1C shortens battery life
Discharge (C-rate)	1C; 2C possible on some cells; 2.50V cut-off
Cycle life	1000-2000 (related to depth of discharge, temperature)
Thermal runaway	210 ºC (410 ºF) typical. High charge promotes thermal runaway
Applications	E-bikes, medical devices, EVs
Comments	Provides High capacity and high power. Serves as Hybrid Cell; market share is increasing.

So to provide you a battery with not only long cycle life, uninterrupted discharging performance, fast charging capability, high energy density, but also to give you worry free operation, and less stress regarding the safety, EverExceed offers you Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) technology batteries.

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