Lithium-Phosphate battery tech about to take off
evanh
Posts: 15,912
Just read a tid-bit about how this battery chemistry has previously been sidelined because of patents/licensing. And that is about to end. Quite the revelation for me.
It had always puzzled me as to why such a clearly superior chemistry wasn't being used anywhere. Especially anywhere where fire is a high risk. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner was a excellent example with its onboard Lithium-Cobalt battery needing extensive fire protection added to improve the safety ... after the fact! It seemed such a dumb choice in the first place when LiPO, aka LFP, was there for the taking ... except now I know it wasn't for the taking at all. Legal stuff was in the way. I'm guessing about 20 years of it.
Comments
Ya as I was going through these dealing with battery anode materials, scientists at N1 Innovations, Inc. added tungsten and carbon diverse nanotubes that attach to the copper anode substrate and develop a web-like nanostructure. That frames a colossal surface for additional particles to join during re-energize and release cycles. That makes re-energizing the NanoBolt lithium tungsten battery quicker, and it additionally stores more energy.
Nanotubes are fit to be sliced to measure for use in any Lithium Battery plan.
Hmm, that reply reads like an automated ad ...
LiPO is not aka LFP. LiPo is Lithium Polymer, which is very different from Lithium Iron Phosphate, LiFePO4, aka LFP. LFP is not perfect; it has its own drawbacks, such as lower specific power and poorer performance when cold, requiring a battery warming system below about 0 C in order to charge it. Also, the patents didn't stop anyone from using LFP; it just stopped some other battery manufacturers from producing it themselves.
They're two separate names. PO is correct for phosphate, just have to be careful not to use the capital O when talking about polymer. The iron is interchangeable with other metals, so LFP, like NiMH, is more correctly LiMPO.
Don't all battery techs have low temperature charging issues?
And it has been getting a lot more use in China where the patents aren't upheld, but only for non-export activities. Which obviously has less appeal for investment.