Can lithium battery life be extended？

What is the lithium-ion battery life

Lithium is one of the most accepted and widely used batteries around the world. Several gadgets have employed the use of Lithium Batteries because of their outstanding battery life. What then is the lithium-ion battery life?

Battery life is also referred to as battery lifespan. In some instances, it is defined as the amount of time a battery lasts, until it is replaced. Therefore, lithium-ion battery life can be described as the level of performance and longevity of a lithium-ion battery.

Interestingly, the lithium-ion battery life is influenced by several other factors. These factors are usage time, cycle-life, and beginning of life.

Usage time

Usage Time is the period for which a battery is used before its performance reduces.

Cycle life

Cycle Life is defined as the number of charges and discharges a battery has before it loses its performance.

Beginning of Life

The beginning of the energy and capacity of the battery when the battery is just assembled or in the initial state of the battery life.

Do Lithium-ion battery life last longer

Several homes, companies, and institutions used batteries for various reasons. Some use a battery because of its energy density, while others use it for its battery life? As a result, it is important to know how lithium-ion battery life fares, compared to others.

Do lithium-ion batteries last longer? Yes, they do. Lithium-ion battery life is longer than the battery life of most of the other conventional Batteries. For instance, Lithium-ion battery life lasts longer compared to Alkaline battery life, as it outlasts the latter by up to 8 to 10 cycles while holding on to their maximum voltage, for most of their lives.

Comparison of cycle Life between lithium-ion, lead-acid, Nimh, and other batteries

Lithium-ion battery life has one of the best cycle life amongst several other batteries, however, it is important to compare its strength to other batteries such as NiMH, lead-acid, and other common batteries

NiMh

Nimh batteries are quite popular and have a fairly good cycle life. However, their cycle life is lower than that of a lithium-ion battery. This is because of about 500 – 1500 life cycles, compared to Lithium-ion battery’s over 3000 life cycles. Ultimately, Nimh batteries have a cycle life of 2 to 5 years, while Lithium-ion battery has a life cycle of at least 5 years.

NiCd

The NiCad battery is widely used. Interestingly, its cycle Life is lower than that of a Lithium-ion battery. NiCad battery possesses a life cycle of 1000 – 2000 life cycles compared to the 950 lifecycles which are the lithium-ion battery’s maximum. Despite its high charging ability, NiCad has a charging defect which is referred to as “memory”, giving lithium-ion battery an edge above it.

Lead-acid Batteries

Lead-acid batteries has a lower life cycle compared to lithium-ion battery. Lead-acid batteries possess about 800 life cycles, while lithium-ion batteries possess over 3000 life cycles.

Comparison of the life cycle of ternary lithium-ion LCO and LFP batteries

Ternary lithium battery

A ternary lithium battery uses a nickel-cobalt-manganese-based material as its cathode. Ternary lithium has a life cycle of 2000.

Lithium cobalt ion

Lithium Cobalt has a low life cycle because of the presence of a lithium Colbalt anode. As a result, it has 500 to 1000 life cycles.

LiFePO4

LiFePO4 has the longest life cycle, as it has over 3000 lifecycles.

Can a lithium battery last for 20 years

Indeed, If it is charged and discharged once a day, and the lithium battery is usually used and stored in the correct way. A lithium iron phosphate battery with 4000 cycle life can theoretically be used for 4000/365=10.96 years.
The life of a lithium battery is affected by factors such as ambient temperature and charge and discharge, so to maintain the performance of the battery, you need to use the battery correctly according to the instructions.

How can I make my lithium-ion battery last longer

There are various ways to ensure that your lithium-ion battery lasts longer. Some of those ways are:

Keep it at room temperature

It is one of the factors that reduces the battery life of a lithium-ion battery. Therefore, a temperature of 20 to 25 degrees Celsius is ideal for its optimum performance. Therefore, you must keep your battery away from heat particularly when it is fully charged, as it is a key factor affecting battery life.

Get a High capacity battery

Instead of getting a spare lithium-ion battery, you must consider getting a high-capacity battery. This is because a high capacity lithium-ion battery would have a better lifespan.

Always charge your batteries partially

It is important to avoid overcharging your lithium-ion battery. Lithium-ion batteries have no memory effect and it is important to avoid overcharging which may cause a litte damage to the battery.

Avoid complete discharge

You must avoid complete discharge below 2.5 volts, failure to do this may result in reduced performance.

Discharge battery to 40% and store in a cool place

When storing the battery for a long time, because it will self-discharge, although the self-discharge rate of lithium batteries is already the lowest, it is necessary to charge the battery to about 50% every 2 months to maintain its power. This is because the rate of oxidation is at its highest when it is fully charged. Discharging to 40% and storing it in a cool dry place of 18 – 25 degrees, is a great idea to extend the battery life of your lithium-ion battery.

How do I keep your lithium battery 100% healthy

Charge the battery following instructions in the manual

most lithium-ion batteries, come precharged. However, it is important to charge the battery before it reaches 50% for the first time.
●Charge your battery often before you drain completely
●Utilize battery chargers made only for lithium-ion batteries.
●Drain your battery to about 5% once a month
●Keep your devices away from the sun and keep under sheds.

Why do lithium-ion batteries lose capacity

Lithium-ion batteries capacity reduces over time due to use. This is because the charges move from the cathode to the anode during charging, thus reversing the flow of the battery. This process may wear out the cathode and affect the capacity of the lithium-ion battery.

Will lithium be replaced? What kind of batteries last forever

There are no solutions or alternative which possesses lithium’s properties to replace it.
There is a possibility that batteries that last forever will soon be produced. Nickel-iron batteries have been proposed to last for 20 – 30 years and can still be speed even after 80 years of storage. After 15,000 cycles, the capacity can maintain 80% . Furthermore, there is a promise of a battery coated with nanowires which are proposed to have up to 200,000 charges.