Battery Types and Characteristics (Basic Knowledge)
Release: 2019-05-07, Update: 2025-08-14, Y.T.
Battery Types and Problems
Countless electronic devices surround us in our daily lives. While large appliances like TVs and refrigerators
draw power from wall outlets, most portable devices--from smartphones and tablets to electric vehicles--rely
on batteries. Many batteries are used for remote controllers for TV, air conditioners, and so on. Recently, a
large storage battery for home use has been developed and sold to store electrical power generated by solar
panels and be usable at night. There are also ideas to use electric vehicles as storage batteries.
Various types of batteries and rechargeable batteries are built-in these products and used properly according to
the application. You can learn the types of batteries and the problems on this page.
First, we introduce the type of battery. It can be divided into primary cells such as dry-cell batteries, secondary
cells (rechargeable batteries) that can be recharged and used repeatedly, and fuel cells that continuously
generate electrical power by chemical reactions. The primary cell is disposable, and it generates electrical
power by chemical reaction, and it cannot be used anymore if there is no substance that initiates the chemical
reaction.
On the other hand, rechargeable batteries can be repeatedly charged and discharged. It also generates electrical
power by chemical reactions, but it is different from primary cells in the reversibility of chemical reactions.
After discharge, there is no substance that undergoes a chemical reaction, "charging" can be done to return
from the state after reaction to the state before reaction.
However, charge-discharge cycles have an upper limit and may cause a temporary voltage drop due to memory
effects. Fuel cells generate electrical power by reacting hydrogen and oxygen. In this case, hydrogen is
extracted from a hydrogen storage alloy or liberates hydrogen contained in hydrocarbons such as methane,
ethane, propane, and butane in city gas and reacts with oxygen in the air. Therefore, if we can continue to
provide hydrogen source materials, we can continue extracting electrical power.
Features of Each Battery
Let's introduce the features of each battery.
NiCd (Nickel-cadmium Battery), NiMH (Nickel-metal-hydride Battery)
Both NiCd and NiMH use nickel hydroxide for the positive electrode. NiCd uses cadmium for the negative
electrode, NiMH uses a hydrogen storage alloy, and the electrolyte is an aqueous solution mainly composed of
KOH (potassium hydroxide). Although both NiCd and NiMH can be used for high-power applications such as
motors, Due to environmental concerns over the toxic heavy metal cadmium, NiCd batteries were largely
superseded by Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH) technology. NiMH became the prevalent choice for common
rechargeable batteries, and today, it is the technology used in most rechargeable AA and AAA batteries
familiar to consumers, such as Panasonic's eneloop™ and EVOLTA™.
While NiMH batteries remain a reliable and popular choice for these applications, they face challenges such as
the memory effect. In the broader market of portable electronics like smartphones and laptops, Lithium-ion
(Li-ion) batteries have become the dominant technology due to their higher energy density and superior
performance.
As a feature of NiMH, it is resistant to repeated charging and discharging and has high safety. On the other
hand, NiMH has a strong memory effect, and there is a problem that the amount of electrical power that can be
generated decreases as the battery charge is continued. To reset this memory effect, it must be fully discharged
and then recharged.
LiB (Lithium Ion Battery)
Lithium-ion battery is used in various products such as laptop computers, smartphones, and tablets. You may
think that almost all LiB is used in batteries that exist around you. It is also widely expected as a battery for
electric vehicles. Since LiB has a very high energy density, about 2.5 times that of NiMH, it is an essential
storage battery for reducing the weight of mobile devices such as mobile phones. Furthermore, they do not
suffer from the memory effect, allowing for partial charging without degrading battery capacity. They also
exhibit a very low self-discharge rate, retaining their charge for extended periods of non-use.
Table. Self-discharge Rate of Each Battery
Battery type Self-discharge rate [%/month]
Lead-acid battery 3 to 20
Nickel-cadmium battery 20 to 45
Nickel-metal-hydride battery 15 to 40
Lithium-ion battery 1 to 5
However, because the energy density is high, even a slight voltage fluctuation results in overcharging, which
leads to extremely shortening the battery life. In addition, if overcharging or over discharging is repeated, the
internal pressure of the battery will rise, causing a burst or fire accident. You may have seen the news that a
smartphone has exploded and caused a major burn, or that an aircraft has exploded a battery.
Solid-state Battery
One of the problems with the above batteries is "leakage". If it is left for a long time, the electrolyte contained
in the battery may leak out. Leakage can cause a short circuit, and in some cases, can damage the internal
circuitry. Leakage occurs because an aqueous solution is used for the electrolyte, and to avoid this, a solid-state
battery with a solid electrolyte has been developed. The advantage is that it is easy to handle, and it is less
likely to cause an accident.
Early prototypes of solid-state batteries demonstrated volumetric energy densities around 200 Wh/L. However,
intensive research and development are currently underway, with goals to significantly increase this density to
400-600 Wh/L or even higher, which is crucial for extending the driving range of future electric vehicles.
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On the other hand, there is also a drawback. The solid-state battery developed by Toyota for electric vehicles is
a lithium-ion storage battery that uses a sulfide-based solid electrolyte and a layered oxide positive electrode,
and currently has a volumetric energy density of only about 200 Wh/L. This is less than half. In order to extend
the cruising distance, it is necessary to raise the volumetric energy density to 400 to 600 Wh/L, and its
development is currently in progress.
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Metal-air Battery
A metal-air battery uses oxygen in the air for the positive electrode and metal for the negative electrode. It is
used for small and light electric appliances such as hearing aids and kitchen timers. Alkali metals such as Li,
Na, and Ca and alkaline earth metals are chemically reacted with oxygen in the air to extract electricity.
Therefore, when not in use, keep it shielded to block oxygen and peel off the shield when it is used. Battery
performance varies depending on the metal (element) used, and the merit is that it can be downsized because it
does not require an electrolyte. On the other hand, it is difficult to develop as a rechargeable battery because
metal causes dendrite growth at the time of charging, and an infrastructure for recycling is necessary.
Fuel Battery
Fuel batteries are fundamentally different from the rechargeable batteries introduced so far. Basically, you can
think of it as the same as a generator. In other words, by continuing to provide some kind of fuel, the generator
is continued generating electrical power.
Though there is an impression that is not likely to be around ours, Panasonic's "ENE-FARM" is a typical
example of a household fuel battery. The hydrogen that is provided as fuel and the oxygen in the air react with
each other to produce water and generate electrical power. Electrical power is generated by the reverse reaction
of the water electrolysis experiment conducted in science experiments.
However, since hydrogen has a high reaction rate and needs attention in handling, for example, for a fuel
battery considered for mounting on an electric vehicle, it should not be accumulated even if hydrogen leaks or
hydrogen does not leak to the surroundings.
Double-layer Capacitor
It is a kind of capacitor that has become the focus of attention in recent years. Like a battery, it is composed of
an electrode and an electrolyte, but when a voltage is applied between the electrodes (to the extent that the
electrolyte does not decompose), there is a region where the charge of the electrode and the opposite sign
increases around the electrode. Then, it can store potential like a capacitor, and this is called an electric double-
layer capacitor.
Similar to rechargeable batteries, it can be repeatedly charged and discharged, but it is characterized by its high
charge and discharge speed because it only forms the electric double-layer. However, the energy density is
smaller compared to rechargeable batteries. On the other hand, the energy density is higher than ceramic
capacitors, but the rated voltage is lower.
