We Are Access Equipment | Battery chemistry: Flash Battery helps us understand it

Today, there are numerous types of chemistry, and for lithium batteries alone there are no less than six variants, with very different characteristics.

Each lithium chemistry is at its best in different areas of use, and in order to choose the correct one according to what is to be electrified, all key parameters must be taken into account: Specific Energy or Gravimetric Density [Wh/Kg], Safety, C-Rate, Life Cycle and Cost.

Some, such as LCO (Lithium-Cobalt-Oxide-LiCoO2) and LMO (Lithium-Manganese-Oxide-LiMn2O4), are perfect for small to medium batteries, for powering mobile devices or medical equipment and power tools, such as drills and screwdrivers; others, such as NMC (Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt-LiNixMnyCozO2) and NCA (Nickel-Cobalt-Aluminium-LiNiCoAIO2) are mainly used in the automotive sector, due to the high specific energy they offer. In contrast, LTO (Lithium Titanate-Li4Ti5O12) is state-of-the-art lithium technology, subject to very low degradation and can operate over a very wide temperature range. However, its low energy density and currently high cost will limit its use for much longer.

“Among the most interesting chemistries is LFP (Lithium-Iron-Phosphate-LiFePO4) chemistry, which is what we use in Flash Battery. Batteries with LFP chemistry are the safest and most stable on the market today, and are available in large capacity formats, as required by industrial systems, without the need to connect many small cells in parallel, which would lower their stability and compromise safety. Life cycles in a battery with LFP chemistry today exceed 3,500 cycles and, if equipped with a good BMS system, can easily exceed 4,000. In the future, even more than 6,000 cycles are expected” explains Alan Pastorelli, CTO and Co-founder of Flash Battery.