The Reason Why Li-Ion Batteries Are So Successful

Nowadays, portable equipment and laptops become smaller and need more energy, which lead to the need for rechargeable lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries. These batteries are more compact and lightweight than others as the electrodes are made of lightweight lithium and carbon. In addition they offer significantly improved performance over the classic rechargeable battery types.

There is a difference between the Lithium-ion batteries used in most laptops and the primary lithium batteries in cameras. As the source of power for many applications the lithium-ion battery has evolved as the market leader since it's invention in 1990. Lithium-ion batteries have never been as popular as today, which is primarily based on the explosive growth of the consumer electronics market.

Energy density is the factor that determines the weight and size of batteries. As designers are held to develop slim and light devices for today's markets, they make use of lithium-ion batteries with a high volumetric energy density. Industries like aerospace, automotive and defense also have applications where the high energy density of Li-ion batteries is needed.

These cells with a significantly higher voltage allow for a reduction of cells per pack and therefore lower the assembly cost and increase reliability.

There are many facts that further the superior acceptance of these cells in an exploding market. Among the many benefits are the higher energy density and higher voltage per cell, but also a great performance under low temperature, improved life cycle, simpler battery management, less self discharge, easy recharge and more less harmful parts for the environment.

A major benefit of li-ion batteries is the lack of a memory effect, which means that they have not to be fully discharged before they are charged. As they can take several hundreds of discharge and charge cycles, the stay in good working condition for much longer.

The fact that they can be build in different shapes and sizes allows to build them into all kinds of devices.

But if something seems so perfect, there has to be a downside. It is the fact that very rarely, maybe a couple of packs in a million tend to burst in flames.

In the end, these li-ion batteries are the best, most powerful batteries on the market and can be used for most applications.

About me:

I have been a pro in battery driven electrics for many years. The short life of batteries has always ennoyed me, so I started to recondition batteries, sell them or simply save money on them.