We have been curating a thought piece – see link below – by Dr Matthew Priestley. He is an associate lecturer at Energy Systems Research Group at University of New South Wales in Australia. Thus far we have reviewed his thoughts on why lithium-ion batteries fail, and how to make them safer. We consider ways to reduce the risks of lithium-ion batteries, in this our final post on this topic for now. The Risks of Lithium-ion Batteries Catching Fire Lithium-ion battery fires are extremely hot, and easily spread to other combustible materials. Moreover, being chemical reactions they do not need oxy ..read more

We are curating a thought-provoking article by Dr Matthew Priestley. He is an associate lecturer at Energy Systems Research Group at University of New South Wales, Australia. His thinking goes further than pondering why lithium-ion batteries fail. We discussed his two ways to make lithium-ion batteries safer in our previous post. Now we move on to the root causes of occasional, catastrophic failure. Two Main Causes Why Lithium-Ion Batteries Fail REASON ONE: Lithium Batteries’ Particular Hazards Matthew Priestley confirms “all types of batteries can be hazardous and can pose a safety risk”. How ..read more

Dr Matthew Priestley is an associate lecturer at Energy Systems Research Group at University of New South Wales, in Australia. He became concerned after he learned there were over 450 lithium-ion battery-related fires in his country in the previous 18 months. And so he put pen to paper, so to speak on the Uni’s website, and described seven ways to make lithium-ion batteries safer. Dr Matt’s First Two Ways to Make Lithium Batteries Safer We’ll need more than one post to cover all seven ways to make lithium batteries safer. We begin with understanding the current situation, and where we are most ..read more

It’s a fair question to ask, which are the best primary AA batteries for me? After all, there are several different chemistries available in stores, and many different brands too. We won’t take sides and back any particular manufacturer. And as for the different chemistries, each has their own application. At the end of the day you get what you pay for. That’s life! Which AA Primary Battery Chemistry Is Best? That’s a leading question, because all have been around for decades. All of these single-use cells wouldn’t have survived, if they were that bad! AA batteries are a similar size and appea ..read more

Lithium-ion batteries brought an unexpected challenge with them when they arrived. They may weigh less, deliver more, charge faster, and last longer, but they can be unpredictable when they enter uncharted territory. A battery management system has become almost inevitable to prevent damage to user installations. Such a system adds a brain to a cohort of lithium-ion batteries, otherwise potentially likely to go their own ways. Electronics monitor what is happening inside each cell. They are capable of shutting down single cells, or whole batteries, before these stray from safe operating margin ..read more

Future Market Insights predicts positive growth in the global lead-acid battery market through to 2032, its planning horizon. The compound average growth rate will 5.2% per annum it says, suggesting a solid future for the tried-and-trusted technology. This is in line with strong growth in the electronic gadgets market, according to Future Market Insights again. U.S. Set to Follow Global Lead-Acid Battery Market Lead The post on Global Newswire continues by predicting a U.S. lead-acid battery CAGR of above 4.5% during the review period. By way of interesting comparison, it says China is likely ..read more

Traditional solid polymer electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries have several drawbacks. That’s because they have low thermal stability. And this can in turn lead to battery thermal runaway, and even disastrous fires. Scientists as Purdue University in Indiana have developed a new composite solid polymer electrolyte, which they say tackles these problems head on. Could this herald a new age of safer lithium-ion batteries? What’s Wrong With Solid Polymer Electrolytes? The University report – see link below – says the low conductivity of the current generation of lithium-ion batteries has severa ..read more

Lithium-ion cell shapes must fit snugly into the devices that they serve. This is an iterative process, where some device makers design their products around the cells. However, some manufacturers of top-end mass products like smartphones may specify relatively unique sizes and shapes. We review the three main approaches to solving this challenge below. The Three Main Lithium-Ion Cell Shapes We assume all the cells we describe in this post are 3.2-volt lithium-ion-phosphate types. However, the principles governing lithium-ion cell shapes and sizes are universal. Common Lithium Cylindrical Cell ..read more

All lithium-ion cell types have the word ‘lithium’ in their name, because this is the active material in their design. The rest of their name includes their other main elements, for example lithium-cobalt-oxide and lithium-manganese-oxide. Each of these designs has their own particular application. We discuss the four commonest of these chemistries in the short paragraphs that follow. The Four Main Lithium-Ion Cell Types Lithium-Cobalt-Oxide Cells (LiCoO2) Lithium-cobalt-oxide cells have cobalt-oxide cathodes, and graphite-carbon anodes between which the lithium-ions shuttle. This design has l ..read more

A battery is a very simple device when we think about it at an elementary level. We store energy in it, and retrieve this later when we have a useful purpose for the electricity. Until lately, we have mostly used electrochemical reactions for this purpose. But there has been one notable exception for a while. We discuss this, and two other new types of batteries coming on stream. Climate Change Behind New Types of Batteries There’s been a surge in battery demand over the past two decades. Global warming is driving this, and the need to store more renewable energy. We could manufacture loads of ..read more