The Lithium-ion batteries are divided into prismatic cells (such as commonly used cell phone battery cells), cylindrical lithium batteries (such as 18650, 18500, etc.), and pouch lithium batteries by shape. And they are also divided into aluminum-cased lithium batteries, steel-cased lithium batteries, pouch pack batteries by packaging materials, lithium NMC Batteries, lithium iron phosphate(LiFePO4) batteries, lithium polymer batteries, and Lithium titanate batteries by the cathode materials.
There are three primary forms of mainstream lithium battery packages: cylindrical, prismatic, and pouch. Square lithium battery usually refers to aluminum or steel case square battery, the popularity of square battery is very high in China. The structure of the square battery is more straightforward, unlike the cylindrical battery that uses stainless steel with a higher strength as the shell and accessories such as explosion-proof safety valves, so the overall weight of the accessories is lighter, and the relative energy density is higher.
The structure of prismatic cells:
The main components of a typical prismatic cell include top cover, shell, positive plate, negative plate, diaphragm consisting of laminated or wound, insulation parts, safety components, etc.
The shell of the prismatic cell is generally steel or aluminum; with the market-driven pursuit of energy density and the progress of production processes, the aluminum shell is gradually becoming mainstream.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of lithium prismatic cells?
Advantages
The prismatic cell has the high reliability of the package; it has high energy efficiency, is lightweight, has high energy density, has a simple structure, and is easy to expand. It is currently an important option to increase the energy density by increasing the capacity of a single cell;
Disadvantages
People can customize the prismatic cell according to the size of the product, so there are thousands of models on the market. The processes are difficult to standardize, the level of production automation is not high, the variability of the single unit is significant, and in large-scale applications, there is a problem that the system life is much lower than the life of the single cell.
