DIAGNOSE software platform is built on Akkurate’s extensive battery expertise – providing a single window to view and manage battery assets. Articles.
While only one of multiple types of batteries, the past few years the popularity of Lithium-ion (Li-ion in short) batteries has steadily grown: their combination of performance, flexibility and decreasing costs makes them not only particularly suited for use in consumer electronics like smartphones and portable devices, but electric vehicles (EVs) as well. Here’s what … Read more
With countries all around the world pushing to transition to cleaner energy, batteries are definitely part of the equation. Households can generate their own energy, for example using solar panels on roofs and in gardens and store excess power in their own battery – behind-the-meter. Additionally, on a larger scale, rather than letting surplus energy … Read more
Cell failure can occur due to various reasons. Proper design and high manufacturing quality are the keys to having safe and high-performance batteries on the market. Battery design needs to take into account all the intended usage conditions and also the foreseeable misuse cases in order to maintain battery safety. Manufacturing flaws of lithium-ion cells … Read more
A battery pack is an enclosure consisting of one or several cells, safety component(s), and cell monitoring electronics. A pack used in smartphones typically consists of one cell, a protection circuitry, and a secondary safety component (e.g. fuse or PTC). The protection circuitry ensures that the cell voltage and current limits are not exceeded in … Read more
Manufacturing of lithium-ion cells is a complex process with hundreds of steps. Factories need to be free of impurities, and in some steps, the humidity needs to be well controlled. The manufacturing process starts with slurry making, where the active material powder, conductive additive, and binder are mixed with a solvent. The resulting slurry is … Read more
The anode and cathode consist of active materials, conductive additives, and a binder material to glue all the components together on the current collector foil. The current collector is usually copper for anode and aluminum for cathode. Commonly used active materials for anode are various types of graphite. Graphite is used for all applications that … Read more
The basic parameters of a lithium-ion cell are voltage, capacity, energy, and power. Cell voltage is the difference between cathode and anode potentials and thus depends on the selected active materials. Capacity (Ah) corresponds to the number of lithium ions reversibly stored in the electrodes. Energy (Wh) can be calculated as voltage times capacity. One … Read more
A lithium-ion cell consists of an anode, cathode, separator, electrolyte, and current collectors. The cell components are sealed inside of an airtight container. The container can be a cylindrical or prismatic metal can or a pouch made of aluminum foil. Lithium ions are stored in the active anode and cathode materials. Electrolyte is typically a … Read more
ELECTRICAL PERFORMANCE TESTING In capacity measurements the battery is discharged until a specified voltage cut-off limit is reached. The battery voltage profile is recorded as a function of the discharge time. The discharged capacity (ampere hours, Ah) is calculated as the product of the applied current and time. Discharged energy (watt hours, Wh) is received … Read more
For a long time, batteries have been making our lives easier. And they still are – the only problem is that we are using them in an unsustainable way. This already huge problem can become even bigger in the near future, especially now that the automotive industry is preparing to switch to electricity. New, ambitious … Read more