Cathode material influence on the power capability and utilizable capacity of next generation lithium-ion batteries

Lithium-ion cells (Li-ion) comprising lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) based cathode active material are a promising battery technology for future automotive applications and consumer electronics in terms of safety, cycle and calendar lifetime and cost. Those cells comprise flat open circuit voltage (OCV) characteristics and long-term load history dependent cell impedance. In this work the special electric characteristics of LiFePO4 based cells are elucidated, quantified and compared to Li-ion cells containing a competing cathode technology. Through pulse tests and partial cycle tests, performed with various olivine based cells, the cycling history dependency of the internal resistance and therefore on the power capability is shown. Hence, methods are illustrated to quantify this load history impact on the cells performance. Subsequently, methods to achieve a safe battery operation are elucidated. Furthermore strategies are given to obtain reliable information about the cells power capability, taking the mentioned properties into consideration.