This article will introduce several typical energy storage battery technologies at present, and sort out the advantages and disadvantages of each type.

1. Ternary Lithium Battery

Ternary lithium battery, also named ternary lithium polymer battery, refers to a battery technology that uses Li(NiCoMn)O2 as the anode. This is the first and most successful lithium battery technology, widely used in the mobile electronics and electric vehicle industries. The cycle life of ternary lithium batteries exceeds 3000 cycles. Its energy density ranks first among all lithium battery technologies, about 250kwh/m3. Safety is the main bottleneck of ternary lithium technology.

2. Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery

Lithium iron phosphate battery, referred to as LFP, refers to the lithium battery technology that uses LiFePO4 as the anode. It has been recognized as the safest lithium battery technology since it was first created by NTT (Japan) in 1996. LFP has a long cycle life of more than 3500 cycles. Among all lithium battery technologies, it ranks first in service life. The energy density of LFP batteries is around 200kwh/m3. LFP also shows the advantage of fast charge/discharge response.

3. Lead carbon battery

Lead-carbon battery is a combination of carbon material (C) with electric double layer capacitance characteristics and sponge lead (Pb) negative electrode to make a lead-carbon bi-functional composite electrode (referred to as lead-carbon electrode) with both capacitance and battery characteristics. The lead-carbon composite electrode is matched with the PbO2 positive electrode to form a lead-carbon battery.

The cycle life of lead-carbon batteries at 100% depth of discharge is 3200, and the cycle life at 80% depth of discharge is 2500 cycles. Another major advantage of lead-carbon batteries is their low cost for larger systems. The total price of lead-carbon batteries is less than half that of lithium batteries. Considering that battery investment is a critical part of a commercial BESS system, this can significantly shorten the payback period. Safety is also a consideration in choosing lead carbon. Compared with lithium batteries, the chemical reaction between the cathode and anode of lead-carbon batteries is mild and slow, which makes it a safer technology.