kthutchinson
Member
I sent the following to the editor of the Owner's News but thought I would post it on this forum as well. It's my reply to a product review ny Mark Barnes.
"I usually enjoy Mark Barnes’ contributions to the Owners News, but his review of Motobatt’s hybrid battery in the June 2023 issue needs some correction. Mark seems to have fallen for the mistaken idea that the term lithium-ion refers to a single type of battery, and that lithium iron phosphate (not sulphate) batteries are something completely different. You hear and read news reports that seem to reinforce this idea. However, this is incorrect. The term lithium-ion is an umbrella term referring to any battery using lithium. There are at least a half dozen lithium-ion battery chemistries, of which lithium iron phosphate is one. Each chemistry has it particular advantages and disadvantages, including size, weight, energy density, and thermal runaway potential. A low thermal runaway potential is one of lithium iron phosphate’s principle advantages. While some lithium batteries may be subject to thermal runaway if fully charged, lithium iron phosphate batteries are considered very safe even when fully charged."
"I usually enjoy Mark Barnes’ contributions to the Owners News, but his review of Motobatt’s hybrid battery in the June 2023 issue needs some correction. Mark seems to have fallen for the mistaken idea that the term lithium-ion refers to a single type of battery, and that lithium iron phosphate (not sulphate) batteries are something completely different. You hear and read news reports that seem to reinforce this idea. However, this is incorrect. The term lithium-ion is an umbrella term referring to any battery using lithium. There are at least a half dozen lithium-ion battery chemistries, of which lithium iron phosphate is one. Each chemistry has it particular advantages and disadvantages, including size, weight, energy density, and thermal runaway potential. A low thermal runaway potential is one of lithium iron phosphate’s principle advantages. While some lithium batteries may be subject to thermal runaway if fully charged, lithium iron phosphate batteries are considered very safe even when fully charged."