Lithium batteries VS lead-acid batteries, who is the king of batteries? Where is the future of lithium batteries?

Nowadays, automobile batteries on the market are generally divided into two types: lithium batteries and lead-acid batteries, but in everyone’s opinion, lithium batteries are much better than lead-acid batteries. Why?

What are the advantages of our favorite lithium batteries over lead-acid batteries? What is the principle behind the environmental protection and high efficiency of lithium batteries? There are rumors that the lithium material will be used up soon. Is this groundless or true? Who made this argument? If it is true, where is the future of lithium batteries?

How important is lithium battery? Without lithium batteries, our mobile phones and computers may become a pile of waste products. Why is a lithium battery good? Because it is highly energy-efficient and environmentally friendly, it is the benchmark for the development of new energy for mankind and represents the future direction of mankind's energy development.

After reading this, a friend will give his opinion. We all know that these are empty words, and we have to listen to the actual situation. Next, let's analyze the comparison of the pros and cons of lithium batteries and lead-acid batteries from three points.

First, let's talk about the size and weight. This may also be an issue that many electric car owners are concerned about. After all, no one wants to carry a big iron hump in their car all the time. In this regard, lithium batteries have considerable advantages. The capacity reached by a conventional lead-acid battery weighing 35KG can be achieved with a lithium battery weighing less than 10KG. Moreover, the volume of a lithium battery of the same capacity is less than one-half of the volume of a lead-acid battery. In terms of endurance, according to the discharge curve, lithium batteries are also better than lead-acid batteries. In the face of severe cold, lead-acid batteries have been defeated. The battery life is directly reduced by half in an environment of minus ten degrees. If the temperature reaches minus 20 degrees, the battery life of lead-acid batteries will directly return to zero. But the lithium battery is different. In such an environment, the battery life will not be affected too much.

The second point is the service life. The service life of lithium batteries is much longer than that of lead-acid batteries. The common life of lead-acid batteries is about one year. Of course, the one year here refers to the life guaranteed by most merchants, but for lithium batteries, the lifespan guaranteed by the merchants is three years. Because the lifespan of lead-acid batteries is too short, merchants only dare to guarantee one year, and because of the long lifespan of lithium batteries, even if the merchants are conservative, the guaranteed time is several times that of lead-acid batteries. In addition to these, lithium batteries are far superior to lead-acid batteries in terms of self-discharge rate. Loss of electricity and scrapping is believed to be a headache for many electric car owners. This is reflected in lead-acid batteries. This is mainly because lead-acid batteries have a high self-discharge rate. Even if you don’t use them, they will still be self-discharged. Secretly discharge, after a long time, the battery will have a problem. But in contrast, lithium batteries hardly have this problem.

The third point is also an environmental issue that we all know well. The simple understanding is that the lead in lead-acid batteries is a heavy metal, which is more harmful to the environment, while lithium batteries are much less harmful to the environment. At the moment when low-carbon environmental protection is sweeping the world, which product is more environmentally friendly, the less harmful to the environment, the more often it has a market.

Here, a friend raised a question, what kind of principle is used to achieve the environmental protection and high efficiency of lithium batteries?
Lithium batteries are divided into lithium metal batteries and lithium-ion batteries. We use lithium-ion batteries more often. Take the lithium-ion battery as an example. Simply put, its function is realized by the movement of lithium ions back and forth between the positive and negative electrodes. When charging, lithium ions leave the positive electrode, pass through the electrolyte between the positive and negative electrodes, and are thrown into the arms of the negative electrode. This process is called de-intercalation and embedding in a professional sense. It is precise because of the running around of lithium ions that lithium batteries have received another name-rocking chair batteries.

In contrast, lithium metal batteries are inferior because they are discharged through the oxidation or corrosion of lithium, so they are disposable products, but they are a direction for the development of high energy density storage devices. So these two are very strong, of course, if you want to talk about recycling and environmental protection, you still need to look at lithium-ion batteries.
Seeing this, do you think that since lithium batteries are so good, they must be rolled lead-acid batteries in the market? No, if it can be crushed, there will be no lead-acid batteries in the market. There are several reasons for this. The first point is the price issue. As we said just now, the volume and weight of lithium batteries are smaller than lead-acid batteries, so the manufacturing of lithium batteries is more difficult, so the price is more expensive.

For the market, the pros and cons of products are one aspect, and several are also one aspect. The second point is that for ordinary electric vehicles, lead-acid batteries are sufficient and can fully meet the needs, so the higher-priced lithium batteries are not so outstanding in comparison. And because lithium batteries are more expensive and take a long time to repair, consumers mostly choose lead-acid batteries that are inexpensive and strong.

But in any case, lithium batteries are the direction of the future development of new energy batteries, and with the advancement of technology, the above problems will eventually be solved.
Some friends here have put forward their opinions. Since you said that lithium batteries are the direction of future development, you still said at the beginning that lithium resources will be used up soon. Isn't this a contradiction?

No. Lithium resources may be used up in the next ten years. It is not ordinary people who made this argument, but Stanley Whittingham, the father of lithium batteries, a great figure who won the Nobel chemist. . The reason why lithium resources will be exhausted is because of the massive development of the new energy industry, leading to increased consumption of lithium. Such a harsh environment also puts forward higher requirements for the development of lithium batteries. In general, it is naturally more advanced, which is to increase the energy of lithium batteries and increase their energy density.

In the research of lithium batteries, Wang Chaoyang from Pennsylvania State University in the United States has made a huge breakthrough in this regard. His research on batteries and energy storage, as well as the innovation of materials, opened another door for us. So far, Wang Chaoyang and his team have developed all-climate batteries, ten-minute fast charge batteries, Shuoan batteries, and low-cost thermally regulated lithium iron phosphate batteries, and this is just the beginning.

From Wang Chaoyang's research, perhaps we should think about the question, what exactly is science and technology brought to us, is it better life, or the transition and evolution of human beings as a whole? What is the state of the application of energy to the end? Now human beings rely on foreign objects for the application of energy and the realization of their own goals. Power generation relies on fire, wind, and solar energy, and travel relies on tools such as trains and airplanes. Is this a constraint on us?

If one day the development of science and technology allows us to get rid of the dependence on foreign objects, relying on the human body itself to be able to realize the utilization and release of various energy sources, the human body itself becomes a high-energy battery, what kind of scene will it be? Or this is the final presentation of human energy development. Perhaps the greatest energy is hidden deep in human genes, but we have never noticed it.