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The Truth About Lithium Batteries and Their Safety
Most modern devices are powered by lithium batteries, including smartphones, mobile devices and electric vehicles. There are concerns about the safety of lithium batteries, but these batteries are not inherently dangerous. The risks of lithium batteries have been greatly reduced due to technological advances and strict safety standards. In addition, the safety risks of different types of lithium batteries vary greatly. As lithium batteries have become so integral to our lives, understanding the safeguards and innovations that exist can help dispel misconceptions and increase awareness of their overall safety. This article explores these types of batteries and how to ensure that lithium batteries continue to be a reliable and safe energy source.
Common safety issues
Consumers generally believe that lithium batteries present a variety of risks, including loss of control, overheating, fire or explosion, overcharging, physical damage and manufacturing defects. In addition, overcharging and over-discharging can also have adverse effects, such as increasing the risk of failure. Lithium battery users are concerned that improper handling and storage can exacerbate these risks, especially for lithium batteries with specific chemistries, so it is critical to follow proper usage and safety guidelines.
1.Common Types of Lithium Batteries
There is a misconception about lithium batteries that needs to be cleared up: not all lithium batteries are susceptible to thermal runaway. The first thing to realize is that lithium batteries use different chemical compositions, which can be divided into four categories based on these compositions:
Lithium Cobalt Oxide (LiCoO2)
LiCoO2 is a popular choice for mobile phones, laptops, and digital cameras due to its high specific energy. Anode and cathode of the battery are made of graphite carbon and cobalt oxide. Cathodes have layered structures, and lithium ions move from anode to cathode during discharge, and during charging, the direction of flow is reversed.
Lithium cobalt oxide excels in high specific energy, but can only provide average performance in terms of power characteristics, safety and cycle life, and is prone to thermal runaway when fully charged.
Lithium Nickel Cobalt Manganese Oxide (LiNiMnCoO2 or LMO)
Nickel Manganese Cobalt (LMO) is a combination of nickel and manganese, and the cycle life is usually only 500-800 times.
Nickel is known for its high specific energy, but poor stability; manganese spinel structure can achieve low internal resistance but low specific energy. LMO is the first choice for power tools, electric bicycles and other electric power systems.Prone to thermal runaway.
Lithium Nickel Cobalt Aluminum Oxide (Li-NCA or NCA)
NCA is a group of mixed metal oxides. It is composed of cations of the chemical elements lithium, nickel, cobalt and aluminum. NCA is used as the active material in the positive electrode (i.e. the cathode when the battery is discharged). It is commonly found in electric vehicles, but it is prone to thermal runaway.
Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4 or LFP)
Due to the strong phosphorus-oxygen bond in the LFP cathode, this battery chemistry is more stable when fully charged. As a result, lithium battery chemistries that do not use cobalt-based chemistries (such as LFP) are more stable and less prone to thermal runaway or fire. Lithium batteries with LFP technology are therefore the safest on the market. The entire BSLBATT product line uses LFP batteries to ensure the safety of user equipment and property.
2.Battery Management System (BMS)
The battery management system (BMS) monitors the voltage, current and temperature of lithium batteries to ensure that they operate within a safe range.
It provides six major safety functions:
• Charging protection
• Discharging protection
• Temperature protection
• Overcurrent protection
• Equalization protection
• Short circuit protection
3.Security certification
• UN/DOT 38.3: Eight transport hazard tests
• UL 2580: North American testing of lithium-ion batteries used in automobiles (Forklifts)
• UL 1642: Testing the safety of lithium-ion batteries used to power electronic products
• UL 2771: Testing the safety of lithium-ion batteries in light electric vehicles (e.g. Golf carts, LEVs, lawn mowers, scooters, motorcycles, ride-on Floor machines)
• IEC 62133: International Electrotechnical Commission chemical and electrical hazard testing
• IEC 60068: Environmental testing
• IEC 61000: Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC)
• IEC 61683: Testing the efficiency of power conditioners for photovoltaic systems
• IEC 62477: Power Electronic Conversion Systems (PECS) such as UPS,PDS,ESS.
• IEC 62619: Testing the safety of lithium-ion batteries in industrial equipment (e.g. automated guided vehicles, forklifts, railways and ships) and electronic equipment
• PICC: China Life Insurance Group BSLBATT products offer insurance coverage up to 300W
Despite the proven safety of LiFePO4, BSL offers all of the above certifications to ensure the safety of your batteries and your property. In addition to battery chemistry, BMS, and regulations and standards, several other advances have made lithium batteries safe and ubiquitous, including protective casings, new manufacturing techniques, and safe charging procedures. If you have questions or concerns about lithium batteries, please contact the technical experts at BSLBATT.