Lead Acid vs. Lithium Ion
Shaun Mayea
Ben Monson
Tom Hamlik
Simeon Brown
Lead Acid Batteries
Lead Acid Electrochemistry
Lead Acid
Standard vs. Deep Cycle
Both car batteries and deep cycle batteries are lead-acid batteries that use
exactly the same chemistry for their.
Starting (sometimes called SLI, for starting, lighting, ignition)
• large current for a very short time.
• large number of thin plates maximize surface area. The plates are
composed of a Lead "sponge "
• if deep cycled, sponge will quickly be consumed and fall to the bottom of
the cells.
• generally fail after 30-150 cycles if deep cycled.
Deep cycle
• steady current over a long period of time
• designed to be discharged down as much as 80% time after time,
• have much thicker plates. SOLID Lead plates - not sponge.
• less surface area, less "instant" power like starting batteries need. Although
these an be cycled down to 20% charge.
Typical battery ratings:
CCA (Cold Cranking Amps) - The number of amps that the
battery can produce at 32 degrees F (0 degrees C) for
30 seconds
RC (Reserve Capacity) - The number of minutes that the
battery can deliver 25 amps while keeping its voltage
above 10.5 volts
Typically, a deep cycle battery will have two or 3x the RC
of a car battery, but will deliver 1/2 or 3/4 the CCAs. In
addition, a deep cycle battery can withstand several
hundred total discharge/recharge cycles, while a car
battery is not designed to be totally discharged.
Lithium Ion Pack
Lithium Ion Electrochemistry
Types of Lithium Ion
Chemical Name
Lithium Cobalt Oxide
(Also lithium-ion-cobalt)
Lithium Manganese
Oxide (also Lithium-ionmanganese)
Lithium Iron Phosphate
Lithium Nickel
Manganese Cobalt
Oxide
Lithium Nickel Cobalt
Aluminium Oxide
Lithium Titanate
Material Abbreviation Short form
Notes
High capacity; for cell
Li-cobalt phone laptop,
camera
Most safe; lower
LI-manganese capacity than Licobalt but high
specific power and
long life.
Li-phosphate
Power tools,
e-bikes, EV, medical,
hobbyist.
NMC
LICoO2
LCO
LIMn2O4
LMO
LiFePO4
LFP
LiNiMnCoO2
NMC
LiNiCoAlo2
NCA
NCA
li4Ti5O12
LTO
Li-titanate
Gaining importance
in electric powertrain
and grid storage
Charging
Lead Acid Charge Cycle
Lithium Ion Charge Cycle
Cycling Depth of Discharge
• The 2 tables compare the number of discharge/charge cycles
a battery can deliver at various DoD levels before the battery
is worn out. Assume end of life, when the battery capacity
drops to 70 percent.
Deep Cycle SLA
Lithium Ion
Depth of Discharge
Discharge Cycles
Depth of Discharge
Discharge Cycles
100% DoD
175
100% DoD
500
50% DoD
450
50% DoD
1500
25% DoD
1250
25% DoD
2500
10% DoD
2000
10% DoD
4700
Cost
Weight
Voltage V
Cost $
Weight Lbs.
Voltage V
Cost $
Weight Lbs.
2V
$10.0015.00
.5-1 lbs
Racing
12.8V
$420.00
1.95 lbs
4V
$13.0026.00
2-2.75 lbs
Racing 16 V
$1,051.00
4.44 lbs
Car 12.8v
$525.00
6V
$8.00215.00
2-150 lbs
4 lbs and 7in
x 6in x 3in
dimensions
8V
$28.00
2 lbs
Marine 12V
$630.00
4.14 lbs
Marine
12.8V
$936.00
4.44 lbs
Marine 16V
$1,262.00
6.12 lbs
Marine
25.6V
$1,995.00
20 lbs
12V
$13.00470.00
1.5-160 lbs
Car > 20 lbs
Energy densities of common
battery chemistries.
What could this mean for our Zap car
• Offers at least 4Xthe life of standard lead-acid batteries and 2X the driving
range. The new
• Drop-in replacement battery system that fits in the same space as the
OEM lead acid batteries used in many of ZAP’s vehicles
• ZAP estimates lead-acid batteries have 300-500 cycles of discharging and
recharging, compared to 2,000 cycles for lithium.
• Customers should see improved acceleration and handling of their
vehicles with the lighter-weight, higher-voltage batteries.
• Chart - ZAP Lithium Battery System vs. Lead-Acid