From an application perspective, batteries can be divided into digital batteries, power batteries, and energy storage batteries.
As the name suggests, digital batteries refer to batteries used in digital products, such as mobile phones, laptops, and power banks. The application market for lithium batteries began with digital batteries.
Power batteries are generally divided into large power batteries and small power batteries. Large power batteries are mostly used in new energy vehicles, while small power batteries are used in electric bicycles or power tools.
Energy storage batteries primarily provide both electrical energy storage and output. In the energy storage market, where lithium batteries have not yet seen significant development, what are the differences between the batteries used and those used in power batteries? Are energy storage batteries and high-power batteries interchangeable?
Although they can be interchanged in some cases, in reality they are not always interchangeable, and each case needs to be analyzed individually.
First, we need to see if energy storage batteries can be used as power batteries.
Energy storage batteries are generally used in the power supply scenarios of conventional electronic devices, such as information base stations and some 3C electronic products. Their discharge requirements are mostly around 1C rate. Under such circumstances, the performance of the materials used in the battery will be relatively poor. For example, in terms of separator, because lithium batteries with low discharge rate do not easily generate heat, the temperature resistance of the separator will be worse than that of power batteries, and naturally the price will be relatively lower.
Furthermore, in terms of internal resistance, because the battery discharge current is smaller, the internal resistance is generally larger than that of a power battery.
In other words, although energy storage lithium batteries and power lithium batteries use the same type of battery materials, the quality of energy storage lithium batteries is slightly worse and their internal resistance is higher. Therefore, in terms of overall price, energy storage lithium iron phosphate batteries are generally cheaper than power lithium iron phosphate batteries.
Actually, there are also power-type energy storage batteries, such as those that support a stable current discharge capability of around 5C. So, can energy storage batteries be used in electric vehicles?
First, check if the two batteries are the same type. Then check if the battery capacities are the same. Finally, check if the stable discharge current supported by the energy storage lithium battery can meet the requirements of the electric vehicle's lithium battery during operation, and whether the maximum allowable current meets the requirements of the electric vehicle for short-term use.
If all of these conditions are met, the electric control system of the electric vehicle will need to be adjusted when the battery is replaced.
Secondly, power batteries are used for energy storage.
After designing and configuring a control system to regulate the discharge size of lithium batteries, it is possible to use electric vehicle lithium batteries as energy storage batteries. However, the economic benefits may not be ideal, given the high cost of batteries and the power control system.
This is one of the reasons why power batteries can be reused in a tiered manner.
