① According to a research report published by a European research team, the new pulse power supply agreement can double the life of lithium-ion batteries with constant charging; ② computer manufacturer Lenovo once said that the charging cycle for computer batteries is generally 300-500 times, and the continuous use time is about 5 years; ③ and the new charging agreement is expected to allow a computer to be used for up to ten years.
AFP, April 18 (Editor Malan) Lithium-ion batteries are used in various fields from electric vehicles to portable electronics, but the maximum capacity of these batteries will decrease over time. The longer they are used, the more charging cycles they go through, and the less power they can hold.
Lenovo once pointed out that many laptop batteries can last up to five years before running out of power, and their charging cycle is about 300-500 times.
Scientists also agree that the best commercial-grade batteries, that is, lithium batteries that use a mixture of nickel, cobalt, and manganese NCM523 (cathode) and graphite (anode) as electrodes, have a lifespan of only 8 years.
However, one study suggests that lithium-ion batteries can double the lifespan of a lithium-ion battery using a new charging scheme. A team of European researchers from Berlin's Helmholtz Center (HZB) and Berlin's Humboldt University said that by optimizing cycle conditions, lithium-ion batteries can be used for decades.
This means that this charging solution will greatly reduce the pressure on battery manufacturing and recycling, thereby saving costs for commercial manufacturing and creating a more sustainable future.
Double the charging cycle
The study was first published in the journal Advanced Materials Science on March 14 this year. The researchers designed a new charging protocol — powering devices through pulsed current rather than constant current.
After comparing the two charging protocols, the researchers found that during constant current charging, the solid electrolyte interface of the battery sample anode was significantly thicker, and there were more cracks in the electrode structure. This represents a significant loss in lithium-ion battery capacity.
Using pulse charging, it not only promotes the uniform distribution of lithium ions in graphite, thereby reducing mechanical stress and cracks in graphite particles, but also inhibits the degradation of the NCM523 cathode structure. This will increase the number of charge cycles the battery can perform from about 500 at a constant current to over 1000.
The test results initially showed that pulse charging can double the service life of commercial lithium-ion batteries when the battery capacity retention rate is 80% or more.
This study further confirmed previous academic assumptions about pulsed current. In 2023, Josefin Strandberg, professor of particle physics at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden, published a paper and found that the health of lithium-ion batteries improved markedly when using a charging protocol based on pulsed current.