Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4)
Lithium Iron Phosphate will become the preferred battery technology for traction purposes and other situations in which high discharge characteristics and cycle life are important. Lithium-iron-phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries are based on the original lithium-ion chemistry, but LiFePO4 is used as the cathode material instead of lithium cobalt dioxide (LiCoO2). The latter is found in the most commonly used batteries in laptops, cell phones, MP3 players, etc.LiFePO4 is an intrinsically safer cathode material than LiCoO2 since exothermic reactions cannot occur in batteries based on this material: LiFePO4 cells do not incinerate or explode under extreme conditions. In addition, LiFePO4 cells have a higher discharge current, are not toxic and have a much higher cycle life than LiCoO2 cells.
LiFePO4 makes the ideal chemistry for electric vehicle applications (see 'characteristics').
LiFePO4 cells can be purchased from various suppliers with diverse characteristic and price levels. The art of engineering a full-sized (electric vehicle) battery system is to select the proper cells, design the battery pack and battery management system (BMS) -taking geometric, thermal and electric constraints into account- and select the appropriate charger. In almost 90% of al traction applications lead acid is still used. These products are a proven technology and are cheap. However, capacity, weight, operating temperatures and CO2 reduction are the advantages of LiFePO4. Although the initial purchase price of LiFePO4 is higher than lead acid, the longer cycle life makes it a financially sound choice as well.
Besides traction applications the high discharge characteristics and safety of the chemistry open new possibilities. We regularly receive requests from companies from all different industries that are interested in LiFePO4. We are be more than happy to discuss what LiFePO4 can mean for your product...