Lithium Batteries

Lithium Batteries – Advantages And Disadvantages

The use of lithium batteries has skyrocketed in the past decade. It's a technology that made all our lives easier! Every day, millions of people use lithium batteries without even knowing it! You can find them in your mobile phone, laptop, PC, and many other portable devices.

Compared to alkaline batteries that were used before, lithium batteries are much better in almost every way. They're safer, have a much bigger capacity and most importantly, they're rechargeable which means that they pollute the environment much less than alkaline batteries.

Like every other piece of technology we use, there are some advantages and disadvantages when it comes to lithium batteries. Many companies around the world are investing jaw-dropping amounts into research and development, so the disadvantages of lithium batteries are being addressed, making this technology better for future generations.

The Advantages Of Lithium Batteries

Lithium batteries are used in a wide variety of applications and new ways of using these batteries is found almost every day. Because of this, research and development of these batteries is done around the world from a massive number of companies, making them better and better.

The advantages of lithium batteries include:
- High energy density – This is one of the main advantages of lithium batteries. People use more portable devices every day, and these devices need more power than they did just a few years ago. The need for higher energy density is growing rapidly and because these batteries can power a mobile phone, tablet or laptop longer than any other type of battery, the high energy density is definitely an advantage compared to any other type of batteries on the market.
- Cell voltage – because lithium batteries have a much larger cell voltage than other types of batteries, much fewer cells are needed to power a large number of handheld devices and cordless appliances. This makes lithium batteries smaller, which is perfect for use in small devices such as mobile phones.
- No formatting is required – People who have bought a new mobile phone a decade ago will remember that they had to "format" their batteries prior to using the device. You needed to put your device on a charger for 12 hours, completely drain it and repeat the process in a total of three times. This made sure that the previous type of battery used in mobile phones and other devices will work properly and have a big enough capacity. When it comes to lithium batteries, there's no need to format it because they're ready to use from the first time you put it on a charger.
- A large variety of applications – Lithium batteries come in many types. Although lithium batteries are used in both mobile phones and electric vehicles, it's not exactly the same type of battery.

The Disadvantages Of Lithium Batteries

Every piece of technology has its flaws and so do lithium batteries. It's a great thing that this technology is used in a wide variety of applications because it's constantly improved.

The disadvantages of lithium batteries include:
- Ageing – This is the biggest disadvantage of lithium batteries, especially when it comes to consumer elecetronics. Not only is the life of a lithium battery time dependant, but it also has a limited number of charge cycles it can undergo. Usually, the capacity will remain the same for about 500-1000 charge cycles, after which the capacity will slowly start reducing. Many companies are investing in research and development, making these numbers bigger, but it's still something that can be considered a disadvantage.
- Cost – The cost of manufacturing lithium batteries is much higher than other types of batteries. This means that consumer electronics would be much more affordable if there was a way to cut down the costs of manufacturing these types of batteries.