Features of a LifePO4 battery
Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) is a Lithium Ion Battery that doesn’t have to be charged with a special charger. The battery will charge just like a regular lead acid battery using the same charger and setting, except that it will take longer to charge.
The advantages of LiFePO4 batteries are:
- High energy density
- About 1/3 of the weight of lead-acid batteries
- Have no environmental pollution
- No memory effect, 1500 cycle-life
- Safe and reliable, non-explosive under the piercing, non-incinerated under over-voltage, Low self-discharge
- Perfect for energy storage and power tool use
How do LifePO4 battery work?
The lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery, also called LFP battery (with “LFP” standing for “lithium Ferro phosphate”), is a type of rechargeable battery, specifically a lithium-ion battery, which uses LiFePO4 as a cathode material, and a graphitic carbon electrode with a metallic current collector grid as the anode.
The specific capacity of LiFePO4 is higher than that of the related lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) chemistry, but its energy density is slightly lower due to its low operating voltage. The main problem of LiFePO4 is its low electrical conductivity. Therefore, all the LiFePO4 cathodes under consideration are actually LiFePO4/C. Because of low cost, low toxicity, well-defined performance, long-term stability, etc., lithium iron phosphate batteries have become one of the most promising candidates for electric vehicles and large-scale energy storage systems.
Applications for LIFEPO4 batteries
The LFP battery’s biggest advantage is its safety. They are not prone to thermal runaway, nor do they have the risk of explosion. The LFP battery can also be discharged down to 50% without any degradation in performance.
The LiFePO4 battery has a very high energy density and a low self-discharge rate. These characteristics make the LiFePO4 batteries ideal for EVs (electric vehicles) and other applications that require high power output and long life span with minimal maintenance.
LiFePO4 batteries can be used in devices that need recharging, such as EV (electric vehicles), E-bike, Garden lights, electric cars, electric motorcycles, electric skateboards, golf vehicles, backup power, etc.
