Eco Friendly
Lithium-ion batteries contain relatively low levels of toxic heavy metals found in other types of batteries. They are generally categorized as non-hazardous waste. Li-ion battery elements including iron, copper, nickel and cobalt are considered safe for incinerators, landfills and recycling. They are safer than many other types of batteries. (They still require proper recycling, so never put your used batteries in with your regular rubbish.)
Light weight and compact
Electrodes commonly used in lithium-ion batteries, lithium and carbon, are lightweight on their own, making for much smaller and lighter batteries than their older counterparts such as lead-acid batteries.
For comparison’s sake, a typical 51Ah (= ampere-hour) lithium-ion battery weighs about the same as a 24Ah lead-acid battery (about 6-7kg), but provides over twice the capacity.
For comparison’s sake, a typical 51Ah (= ampere-hour) lithium-ion battery weighs about the same as a 24Ah lead-acid battery (about 6-7kg), but provides over twice the capacity.
High energy density
Lithium is a highly reactive element with the ability to release and store large amounts of energy, allowing li-ion batteries to pack a high energy capacity in a small size. This translates to lithium-ion batteries lasting much longer between charges than other rechargeable batteries, while still maintaining their high level of performance. Three Ni-MH batteries are required to match the output of a single lithium-ion battery.
Low maintenance
Older types of rechargeable batteries had a so-called “memory effect”, or “lazy battery effect”: If they were repeatedly partially discharged before being recharged, ultimately the battery would only deliver the amount of energy that was used during the partial discharges before its voltage would drop. To avoid this, NiCd and NiMH batteries would need to be regularly maintained by completely discharging and recharging them. Lithium-ion batteries don’t suffer from the memory effect, which means they always give up their last bit of power, and you can recharge them whether you’ve used 100% or 25% of their capacity with no pesky maintenance needed!
Long battery life
Life of a lithium-ion battery is typically defined as the number of full charge-discharge cycles. Quality lithium-ion batteries last about a 1000-3000 full charge cycles. A full charge cycle is when the battery is discharged to flat and then recharged to full, so using your battery until it’s at 75% capacity and then plugging it into recharge doesn’t constitute a full charge cycle. When your battery has recharged back to full, you can still use the 75% of the capacity that you were left with before you recharged your battery; only then has your battery gone through a full charge cycle.
Low self discharge rate
Lithium-ion batteries also have a relatively low self-discharge rate. The self-discharge rate of lithium-ion batteries peaks at about 5% within the first 24 hours after charging the battery, and then tapers off to 1-2% per month. In comparison, nickel-based rechargeable batteries lose about 10-15% of their capacity after charge and another 10-15% per month.