10-07-2020

CONTENTS
 Introduction
Battery & Charging 

Types of batteries
Lead Acid battery
Active materials of Lead Acid cell
System 
 Chemical changes
 Internal resistance & capacity of cell
 Efficiencies of the cell
BY  Indication of fully charged cell
 Electrical characteristics
Piyush Kumar Singh  Specifications
 Schematic arrangement of DC supply
Dy.Director//NPTI//NANGAL

INTRODUCTION PRIMARY BATTERY

 An electric battery is a device which An electric battery consists of a number of
is capable of converting stored electrochemical cells, connected either in
chemical energy into electrical series or parallel.
 A cell, which is basic unit of battery, may
energy.
be defined as power generating device.
 If the stored energy is inherently present
Types of Batteries : in the chemical substances, it is called as
a) primary battery primary battery or non-rechargeable
battery.
b) Secondary battery
Exp : Leclanche cell, zinc- chlorine cell.

LEAD-ACID BATTERY
SECONDARY BATTERY A battery consists of a number of cells and each
cell of the battery consist of
 Positive and Negative plates
 When energy is induced in the  Separators
chemical substances by applying an  Electrolyte
external source, it is called as  Container
secondary cell or rechargeable cell.
1. PLATES : A plate consist of a lattice type of grid
 A battery made out of these cells is of cast antimonial lead alloy which is covered
called a secondary battery or storage with active material. The grid not only serves as
a support for the active material but also
battery or rechargeable battery. conduct electric current. Grids for the positive
and negative plates are often of the same
Exp : Lead-acid cell, nickel- design although negative plate grids are
cadmium cell, nickel cadmium cell. somewhat lighter. Positive plates are usually
plante plates whereas negative plates are faure
type.

1
 10-07-2020

Contd……
3. ELCTOLYTE :It is dilute sulphuric acid which fills
the cell compartment to immerse the plates
2. SEPARTORS : These are thin sheets of a porous completely.
material placed between the positive and
negative plates for preventing contacts between
Them and thus avoiding internal short- circuiting 4. CONTAINER :It may be made of vulcanized
of the battery. A separator must be sufficiently rubber or moulded hard rubber, moulded plastic,
porous to allow diffusion or circulation of ceramics, glass or celluloid. The vulcanized
electrolyte between plates. These are made up of rubber containers are used for car service, while
especially treated ceder wood, glass wool mat, glass container are superior for lighting plants are
micro porous rubber, micro porous plastics etc. wireless sets. Celluloid containers are mostly
In addition to good porosity, a separator must used for portable wireless set batteries.
possess high electrical resistance and mechanical
strength

ACTIVE MATERIALS OF A LEAD-ACID CELL Contd …….

 Those substances of the cell which take
active part in chemical combination and
hence absorb or produce electricity during LEAD PEROXIDE : It is a combination of lead and
oxygen, is dark chocolate brown in colour and is
charging or discharging, are known as quit hard but brittle substance.
Active materials of the cell. It is made up of one atom of lead (Pb) and two
The active materials of a lead acid cell atoms of oxygen(O2) and its chemical formula is
are: PbO2. So, it forms the positive active material.

1. Lead peroxide (PbO2) for positive plate SPONGE LEAD : It is pure lead in soft sponge or
2. Sponge Lead (Pb) for negative plate porous condition. Its chemical formula is Pb and
forms the negative active material.
3. Dilute Sulphuric Acid(H2SO4) as electrolyte

CHEMICAL CHANGES
 DILUTE SULPHURIC ACID :It is having 3 parts of
water and 1 part sulphuric acid.  1. DISCHARGING
Its chemical formula is H2SO4. The positive and When the cell is fully charged, its positive plate or
negative plates are immersed in this solution anode is PbO2 and the negative plate or cathode
which is known as electrolyte. is Pb.
It is the medium through which the current When the cell discharges i.e it sends current
produces chemical changes. through the external load, then H2SO4 is
dissociated into positive H2 and negative SO4
Hence, the lead acid cell depends for ions.
its action on the presence of two plates covered As the current within the cell is flowing from
with PbO2 and Pb in a solution of dilute H2SO4 of cathode to anode, H2 ions move to anode and
specific gravity of 1.20. SO4 ions move to the cathode.
At ANODE, H2 combines with the oxygen of PbO2
and H2SO4 attacks lead to form PbSO4.
PbO2+H2+H2SO4  PbSO4+2H2O

2
 10-07-2020

 At the CATODE, SO4 combines with it to form DISCHARGING

PbSO4

Pb+SO4 PbSO4
load
So, it will be noted that during Discharging:
i) Both anode and cathode becomes PbSO4 which
is somewhat whitish in colour.
+ -
ii) Due to formation of water, specific gravity of the
acid decreases.
H+ H+ SO4 SO4
iii) Voltage of the cell decreases

Pb 4
PbO24

PbSO
H+

PbSO
iv) The cell gives out energy. SO4

H+ H+ SO4 SO4

H2+SO44

 CHARGING
When the cell is recharged, the H2 ions moves to  The charging and discharging of the cell can be
cathode and SO4 ions go to anode . represented by a single reversible equation given
At Cathode by :

PbSO4 + H2  Pb + H2SO4
PbO2 + 2H2SO4 + Pb PbSO4 +2H2O
At Anode +PbSO4

PbSO4+SO4+2H2O  PbO2+2H2SO4

So, it will be noted that during Charging:

i) The anode becomes dark chocolate in
colour(PbO2) and cathode becomes grey metallic
lead (Pb).
ii) Due to consumption of water, specific gravity of
H2SO4 is increased.
iii) There is rise in voltage.
iv) Energy is absorbed by the cell.

CHARGING INTERNAL RESISTANCE

D C SUPPLY Secondary cell possesses internal resistance

due to which some voltage is lost in the form
of potential drop across it when current is
flowing. Hence internal resistance of the cell
- + has to be kept minimum.
Ways to restrict internal resistance :
1) Increase the size of plates.
H+ H+ SO4 SO4
2) Decrease the length of the electrolyte
PbO24

H+
Pb 4

PbSO

SO4 between the electrodes.

PbSO

H+ H+ SO4 3) Join all the negative plates together and all

SO4
the positive plates together.
H2O +HH
2SO
2SO
+
+4SO
44

3
 10-07-2020

CAPACITY OF THE CELL Efficiencies of the cell

Capacity of a cell is given by the product  1. The quantity or A-Hr efficiency

of current in amps and the time in hrs
during which the cell can supply current  2. The energy or Watt-Hr efficiency
until its emf falls to 1.8 volts. It is
expressed in ampere-hour. amp-hr discharge
 The interlacing of plates not only
A-Hr effi. = amp-hr charge
decrease the internal resistance but
additionally increase the capacity of the
Av. volts on discharge
cell. Watt-Hr effi. =A-h effi. x
Av. Volts on charge

INDICATIONS OF A FULLY CHARGED

Contd…..
CELL
 The A-hr of a lead acid battery is normally
between 90-95 % and W-h is 72-80 %. 1. GASSING
 Because of gassing which takes place during
charge, the Ah available for delivery from battery
decreases. 2. VOLTAGE
 It also decreases due to :-
i) self charging of the plates caused due to local 3. SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF THE ELECTROLYE
reactions.
ii) due to leakage of current because of faulty 4. COLOUR
insulation between the cell of the battery.
So, it is clear from formula that anything
which increases the charge volts or reduce the
discharge volts will decrease the Watt-hr
efficiency.

 GASSING :  SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF THE ELECTROLYTE :

When the cell is fully charged, it freely During discharging, the density of
gives off hydrogen at cathode and oxygen at the electrolyte decreases due to production of water,
anode this process is known as GASSING. whereas it increases during charging due to
Gassing at both plates indicates that the current absorption of water. The value of density when
is no longer doing any useful work and hence the cell is fully charged is 1.21 and 1.18 when
should be stopped. Moreover, when the cell is
fully charged ,the electrolyte assumes a milky discharged up to 1.8 V. Specific gravity can be
appearance. measured with a suitable hydrometer which
consists of a float, a chamber for the electrolyte
 VOLTAGE : and a squeeze bulb.
The voltage cease to rise when the cell
becomes fully charged. The value of the voltage  COLOUR :
of a fully charged cell is a variable quantity being The colour of plates, on full charge, is deep
affected by the rate of charging, the temperature chocolate brown for positive plate and clear slate
and specific gravity of the electrolyte. The approx
value of the emf is 2.1 V or so. gray for negative plate and the cell looks quit
brisk and alive.

4
 10-07-2020

ELECTRICAL CHARACTERSTICS  The rapid fall in voltage at higher rate of discharge is

due to the rapid increase in the internal resistance of
 VOLTAGE the cell.
CAPACITY

 Capacity:
 EFFICIENCY
It is measured in ampere-hours. The
VOLTAGE : The open ckt voltage of a fully capacity depends on the following.
charged cell is approx. 2.2 V. a) Rate of discharge: Capacity decreases with increase
This value is not fixed but depends on rate of discharge. Rapid rate of discharge means
a) Length of time since it was last charged. greater fall in potential diff. of the cell due to internal
b) Specific gravity-voltage increasing with increase resistance of the cell.
in sp. Gravity. So with rapid discharge the weakening of the acid in
c) Temperature-Voltage increases with in temp. the pores of the plate is also greater.
 The voltage should not be allowed to fall to b) Temperature: At higher temp.
lower than i) chemical reaction with the cell take place more
1.8volts,otherwise hard insoluble lead sulphate vigorously
is formed on the plate which increases the ii) The resistance of acid is decreased
internal resistance of the cell.
iii) There is better diffusion of electrolyte.

Hence high temp. increases the capacity of Lead

Acid cells. However at higher temp. d) Quantity if active material:
Since production of electricity depends on
a) The acid attacks the antimony Lead alloy
chemical action, so it shows that the capacity of the
grid terminal posts & wooden separator.
battery must depend directly upon the kind & amount of
b) The paste is rapidly changed into Lead active material used.
Sulphate.
Hence it is not advisable to work
batteries above 40 deg. Celsius

c) Density of Electrolyte:
As the density of electrolyte affects
the internal resistance & the vigour of chemical
reaction, it has an important effect on the
capacity. Hence capacity increases with the
density.

SPECIFICATIONS SWITCH YARD BATTERIES:48 V

Switchyard batteries: 220 V

MAKE EXIDE INDUSTRIES LTD. MAKE EXIDE INDUSTRIES LTD.

TYPE LEAD ACID TYPE LEAD ACID
TYPE OF CELLS YKP31 TYPE OF CELLS YKP15
CAPACITY(AH) 375 CAPACITY(AH) 175
NO. OF CELLS 111 NO. OF CELLS 24
NO OF BANKS 1 NO OF BANKS 1
NOMINAL CELL VOLTAGE 2.1 NOMINAL CELL VOLTAGE 2.1
Sp. GRAVITY AT 27 Deg. Cel. 1.195~1.205 Sp. GRAVITY AT 27 Deg. Cel. 1.195~1.205

5
 10-07-2020

FLOAT CUM BOOST CHARGER-SCR CONTROL FOR

MAIN PLANT BATTERIES: 220 V
SWITCHYARD( 220V,375 AH PLANTE BATTERY)

MAKE EXIDE INDUSTRIES LTD. NUMBERS 2

TYPE LEAD ACID I/P POWER SUPPLY 415 V ,3 PHASE ,50 Hz
TYPE OF CELLS YHP25 O/P VOLTAGE FLOAT MODE
CAPACITY(AH) 1285 AUTO 247.53 (2.23 V/ CELL)
NO. OF CELLS 111 MANUAL 0 TO 247.53 V
NO OF BANKS 2 (111 CELLS IN EACH/UNIT) BOOST MODE UPTO 2.75 V/CELL
NOMINAL CELL VOLTAGE 2.1 O/P CURRENT 45 Amps (Max)
Sp. GRAVITY AT 27 Deg. Cel. 1.195~1.205 MODE OF OPERATION AUTO/MANUAL
CONNECTED BATTERY BANK 111 Nos. OF LEAD ACID CELL OF
375 AH CAPACITY( PLANTE)

FLOAT CUM BOOST CHARGER-SCR CONTROL FOR FLOAT CUM BOOST CHARGER-SCR CONTROL FOR
SWITCHYARD( 48V,175 AH PLANTE BATTERY) MAIN PLANT(220 V,1285 AH PLANTE BATTERY)

NUMBERS 2 NUMBERS 2/UNIT

I/P POWER SUPPLY 415 V ,3 PHASE ,50 Hz I/P POWER SUPPLY 415 V ,3 PHASE ,50 Hz
O/P VOLTAGE FLOAT MODE O/P VOLTAGE FLOAT MODE
AUTO 53.52 (2.23 V/ CELL) AUTO 247.53 (2.23 V/ CELL)
MANUAL 0 TO 53.32 V MANUAL 0 TO 247.53 V
BOOST MODE UPTO 2.75 V/CELL BOOST MODE UPTO 2.75 V/CELL
O/P CURRENT 41 Amps (Max) O/P CURRENT 484 Amps (Max)
MODE OF OPERATION AUTO/MANUAL MODE OF OPERATION AUTO/MANUAL
CONNECTED BATTERY BANK 24 Nos. OF LEAD ACID CELL OF CONNECTED BATTERY BANK 111 Nos. OF LEAD ACID CELL OF
175 AH CAPACITY( PLANTE) 1285 AH CAPACITY( PLANTE)

SCHEMATIC ARRANGEMENT FOR DC SUPPLY

Different Types of Stationary Batteries
AC AC
CHARGER#1 CHARGER#2

Two broad classes

 Lead-acid and
DC DC
 Nickel-cadmium
Lead-acid can again be sub
DCDB DCDB
DCDB classified
 Lead-antimony cells
 Lead-calcium cells
 Valve Regulated Lead-acid
INCOMMER#1

INCOMMER#2
BUS COUPLER

cells (VRLA)
TO LOAD

TO LOAD

VRLA can be sub classified into

 Absorbed Electrolyte
 Gelled Electrolyte

36

6
 10-07-2020

Lead-Acid Battery Ageing Ageing Associated Failure Mechanisms

Natural ageing
 Permanent loss of capacity
 Expansion and corrosion of positive plate material.
 Increased internal resistance
 Generally called positive plate growth as plate grows in size over time.
 Positive plate material
 Expansion and deformation of the positive plate.
problems
 Grid structure is less conductive.
 Post seal leakage and failure
 Loss of electrical contact between active material and grid
 Cracked container
 Loss of active material.
 Internal short circuit
 Build up of internal mechanical stresses.
 Plate buckling and
 Higher resistivity. deformation
 conduction path failure
 Loss of physical integrity
Positive and Negative Plates
Down with active material on the plates

37 38

Equipment Failure Experiences and Trouble-

Battery Life Curves: Ideal and Practical Shooting

Ideal battery is designed for 90% of the Frequent Scenario

capacity.
Decreasing battery cell voltage and Specific gravity.
Battery capacity increases the first five years
Significantly reduced battery Capacity.
Battery life starts decreasing at about 40% of
Reduced battery Life.
design life or 8 years
Cracked battery case or Cover.
100% life is 80% capacity of the designed
value. Battery Explosion.

All the Batteries do not follow the ideal

conditions
Some Batteries are known to fail within the
first five years

Some Batteries on the other hand retain their

capacity up to 30 years
The effect of ambient temperature on battery
39 40
life is as shown in bottom figure.

Battery Problems
Electrolyte level operability considerations

 Electrolyte level operability considerations

 Float operation involves continuous charging current and
 Electrolyte stratification
production of charge gasses (Oxygen and Hydrogen) and
 Copper contamination depletion of water due to electrolysis.
 Hydration  These gasses escape through flame arrestors.
 Sulfation  Water also evaporates reducing the water level.
 Excessive sedimentation  If the electrolyte level falls below the filling funnel the gasses
 Prolonged open circuit storage pose explosion hazard.
 Spare cell maintenance  Electrolyte level shall be maintained between the high and
low level marks.
 Water level should be above the plates and submerse the
bottom of filling funnel.
 Too much electrolyte can result in over flowing electrolyte
which can cause shock and short circuit hazards.
41 42

7
 10-07-2020

Electrolyte stratification Copper contamination

Copper contamination
Causes permanent cell failure
 The phenomena of different specific gravities Readily identifiable as rusty brown patches
of electrolytes at different levels is called on negative plates
stratification. Does not lead to immediate or catastrophic
 This is caused by heavier acid settling at the failure
bottom during battery re-charge. When copper contamination is visible it is
 Stratification can be corrected by applying time to order spare cells
equalising charge. Terminal posts have copper inside and lead
 Stratification provides different specific out side
gravities at different levels providing wrong When the lead layer is weak or has holes
information for analysis. acid attacks copper
Contaminated cells have to be treated as
pilot cells

43 44

Hydration

Hydration

 A battery over discharged and left in for some time in discharge

condition goes through permanent damage by Hydration.
 As the battery discharges the specific gravity of electrolyte falls.
 The lead in the plates dissolves in the low specific gravity electrolyte.
 Dissolved lead forms compounds known as Hydrates.
 These Hydrates will on re-charge close the pores of separator. Hydration occurs when lead
 Some of the compounds may react to form lead causing shorts goes into solution in the
between the plates. water in the electrolyte. It
 The process in early stages can be identified by a horizontal band of can be seen as a white
white residue like a bath tub ring on the plates approximately at midway milky-like substance on the
and some times may also appear on container. plate edges. Within the cell
however the hydrate is all
 This process causes increase in charging current.
over the plates and
 If Hydration is observed in one cell the others are not far away. separators causing plate
 It is time to start procurement process. shorts.

45 46

Sulfation Excessive Sediment

Batteries loose capacity if they are constantly under
charged.  Sediment space below the plate is normally adequate to hold sediment
Under-charging for long periods causes build up of lead formed through the life of the battery.
sulphate on the plates called Sulfation.  In a healthy cell sediment looks like dust.
Indications of Sulfation are dull color of the plate, low  Dark sediment located as hills under the positive plate indicates continuous
specific gravity and low cell voltage. over-charge.
Lead-sulphate in the cell forms crystals.  A similar grey deposit under the negative plates shows continuous under-
These crystals occupy more space and may result in plate charging.
warping.  Gray deposit under both the plates indicates cycling.
Under-charging may be caused if float voltages are not  Excessive sediment is a sign that the battery is ageing.
adjusted based on room temperature.
 Battery performance is permanently affected by excessive sedimentation.
 Mossing is a phenomena where excessive loss of material gets on top of
negative plates and finally bridge the gap between positive and negative
plates causing shorting between the plates.

47 48

8
 10-07-2020

Flame Arrestor Maintenance

Storage of New and Spare Cells

 Flame arrestors disperse hydrogen

evolved during charging.
 During over-charging and equalising  Prolonged storage of new cells in their crates as
charge acid vapour acids and dust can received from manufacturer will lead to Sulfation.
form compounds closing the pores.  It is important to adhere to manufacturer’s instructions
 When flame arrestor is blocked acid on to maintain the warranty.
expansion has to find space and may  If spare cells are procured they have to be maintained
leak out through sampling hole. as per the guide lines provided by the manufacturer.
 This acid attacks the cell posts causing  Usually keeping the spare on float charge is required.
Leakage of acid
cell post corrosion.  When in an emergency it is possible to by pass some
Flame arrestor shorted cells.
 The flame arrestors should be washed
Post corrosion in sodium carbonate solution at least  However, necessary capacity calculations are to be
once in four years but based on acid carried out by an engineer.
leaks observed.

49 50

Ohmic measurements as diagnostic tool

VRLA Cells
Conductance, Impedance and their
relation to cell capacity.
Innovative design, user has no access to electrolyte.
VRLA Batteries
Initially termed as maintenance free.  Capacitance has a linear relation to
Electrolyte is immobilized avoiding leakage of electrolyte. cell capacity.

Reduces some environmental concerns and enables to be Data scattering occurs.

installed in commercial buildings. In this case conductance of one KMHO
is considered end of life. (MBITE 3
Smaller installation foot print. Tester)
High rate discharge for UPS applications.
Inductance has exactly opposite
effect.
In this case one milli-Ohm is
considered end of life. (Midtronics
tester)

51 52

VRLA Battery with weak Cells Vented Lead-Acid Cells

VRLA cell capacity can be monitored in three

different ways.
Here all the three examples are shown. Similar monitoring for Vented Lead-acid cells.
Capacitance, Inductance and Resistance are Resistance and impedance are shown on the
shown from top to bottom. top. Capacitance based monitoring shown at the
bottom.
Note that scatter of data occurs. Also note that
a general trend can be seen. It can be observed the scatter is less.
Actual slope of the curve depends on cell It is partly due to the superior Vented cells and
capacity. partly due to major problems encountered in
VRLA cells.
Interpretation is non linear with scope for
errors in single cell evaluation. The characteristics can vary with cell model.

53 54

9
 10-07-2020

Adjusted average of Ohmic value for reference

Battery Impedance values for reference

Nominal values for Impedance, Resistance and

Conductance, can be calculated from these graphs.
However, the scatter seen here is based on the
 Take Ohmic reading of all cells.
battery manufacturer and test equipment  Get the average value of these readings.
manufacturer.
If a full capacity test can be done then the value  Take out the Ohmic values of cells that vary by 20% in
obtained form the test is the best value for
reference.
Impedance and resistance method and 15% in capacitance
Hydro wing of OPG does not generally carry out method.
this test.
Adjusted average is recommended for identifying  Re-calculate the average. Any cells deviating by the same
the potential problem cells. margin from the newly calculated average value can be
termed as bad cells.
 Confirm this by individual cell testing if needed.
 This works best when the battery has small number of bad
cells.

55 56

Conclusion

 Stationary Batteries need maintenance.  Stationary Battery Guide: Design, Application, Maintenance
Revision 2, Of TR 100248 EPRI NMAC publication.
 Periodic visual inspection, electrolyte specific gravity and cell
voltage are not adequate to assess the life and capacity of battery.  Internal Ohmic measurements EPRI interim Technical report No
106522 by EDAN Engineering Corporation.
 VRLA Batteries (dry type) need more maintenance and life is  Training material provided by EDAN Engineering Corporation.
expected to be between four and seven years.  Educational CD from -------------
 Ohmic measurement is a reasonable way of finding weak cells and
overall condition.

 Periodic maintenance can eliminate or reduce some of the problems

and increase battery life.

57 58

 LitLithium-ion chemistry: What solar+storage  Lithium itself does not present a danger of thermal runaway
installers should know or fire. Instead, it’s cobalt that is hazardous.
 When it comes to lithium-ion batteries, reports of  Lithium Cobalt Oxide (LCO) is commonly used in cell phones,
spontaneous fires in phones, hover boards, cars and laptops laptops and digital cameras, and Lithium Manganese Cobalt
have become all too common. The same risks of thermal (LMC or LCM) is used in most electric cars. Both are known to
runaway and fire danger exist when it comes to residential break down at much lower temperatures and release far
and commercial energy storage installations. But not all more potentially hazardous energy than other Li compounds.
lithium-ion batteries pose a fire danger. There are actually a  What’s more, cobalt-based Li batteries actually create heat as
number of different battery chemistries that make up the part of their normal operation. That means they create
“lithium-ion” (Li) category — each with its own chemical exponentially greater risk of thermal runaway than if they
composition and properties: didn’t create any heat at all. Using cobalt is a little like
 LCO – Lithium Cobalt Oxide putting lighter fluid on your charcoal, and then throwing a
 NMC – Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide match on it.
 LMO – Lithium Manganese Oxide  To make matters worse, there is no effective fire retardant
 NCA – Lithium Nickel Cobalt Aluminum Oxide against a cobalt fire. When a cobalt fire starts, it is toxic, and
the only response is to let it burn itself out.
 LFP – Lithium Iron Phosphate

10
 10-07-2020

 Li battery makers that include cobalt and manganese have taken steps to
mitigate fire danger by using cooling and ventilation systems. While such
systems may help reduce the risks, they don’t eliminate them.
 SimpliPhi lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries were used in
a solar installation on California Gov. Jerry Brown’s off-grid private
residence
 By contrast, Lithium Iron Phosphate (also known as Lithium Ferrous  For installations in hot climates, LFP has an even greater
Phosphate) generates very little heat and does not pose a risk of thermal advantage over heat-producing cobalt chemistries.
runaway or fire — and therefore doesn’t require ventilation or cooling.
 When it comes to lithium-ion safety, toxicity is also a concern. As with fire,
 Because LFP batteries require no ventilation or cooling equipment,
it’s not lithium but cobalt that presents toxic risk at every point along the they can be installed in much tighter spaces.
product pipeline — from the moment the element is extracted from the  In hospitals, food service businesses and any home or business
earth until the time the battery is thrown away or recycled. where the primary decision making driver is safety, LFP offers an
 For cobalt miners — including the young children who are often forced into environmentally benign, non-toxic chemistry with no risk of fire.
the practice — exposure to the toxic metal is known to cause breathing
 In looking at total cost of ownership, an LFP system that does not
problems and birth defects. Factory workers are also at risk, as, according
to the CDC, chronic exposure to cobalt-containing hard metal (dust or
require ventilation, cooling or thermal monitoring equipment is
fumes) can result in a serious lung disease called “hard metal lung disease” often the most cost effective solution.
and inhalation of cobalt particles can cause respiratory sensitization,  For installations in areas prone to wildfires, cobalt-
asthma, shortness of breath and decreased pulmonary function. based batteries ignited by fire create toxic “superfund” sites in the
 When it comes to disposal, there is also a risk that the batteries will release homes and businesses where they are installed. LFP does not.
toxic gases if damaged, endangering both sanitation workers and
communities.
 LFP is the only lithium-ion chemistry that does not contaminate the
environment or pose any hazard to living organisms.

 Is One Better than the Other?  .” But, as anyone might have seen with the recent saga of
a certain cellphone brand being banned from flights, lithium-
 Both lithium-ion and lithium-polymer ion batteries are inherently unstable, suffer from aging, and
are potentially dangerous. If the barrier that separates the
batteries have their pros and cons. positive and negative electrode is ever breached, the
chemical reaction can cause combustion (fire). As Li-ion
Typically, the advantages of a lithium- batteries have become more popular in consumer
ion is their high power density, lack of electronics, businesses have tried to lower costs by cutting
corners. While quality batteries are perfectly safe, you
what’s called the memory effect should always be careful when buying no-name brands.
(when batteries become harder to  Lithium-polymer batteries, on the other hand, are
generally robust and flexible, especially when it comes to
charge over time), and their the size and shape of their build. They are also lightweight,
significantly lower cost than lithium- have an extremely low profile, and have a lower
chance of suffering from leaking electrolyte. But
polymer. In the words lithium-polymer batteries aren’t perfect either: they are
significantly more costly to manufacture, and they do not
of Wired, “Lithium-ion batteries are they have the same energy density (amount of power that
incredibly efficient. They stuff freakish can be stored) nor lifespan as a lithium-ion.

amounts of energy in a tiny package

11