Because lithium batteries run at a narrower range of voltage, these lead-acid chargers could potentially overcharge your lithium-ion battery. For example, chargers for lead-acid batteries are specially designed to protect the battery life by pulsing high voltages into the battery occasionally. You shouldn’t try to charge your batteries with just any charger. In a lithium battery, the BMS mentioned in the above paragraph is in place to prevent the charger from doing anything that will damage the battery. Having a programmable charger that can be set to the battery’s specific needs is important to get this process to work correctly. Do Rechargeable Lithium Batteries Need a Special Charger?Ī battery charger increases the voltage of the system above the battery’s voltage to inject the charge. Instead of moving from the anode to the cathode, the lithium ions flow from the cathode to the anode. We’ve talked about how a lithium battery works, but what happens when it recharges? Essentially, the flow of lithium-ions between the anode and cathode reverses. How Does Recharging a Lithium-Ion Battery Work? This helps get the most potential power out of your battery and extend its life. The BMS does this by making sure all the cells of the battery are discharging and recharging at the same rate. This unit constantly monitors the temperature of the battery, but it also ensures that the battery is working correctly. This is an electronic control unit that is installed within the battery. The Battery Management System (BMS) is a very important part of the recharge process. What Does the Battery Management System (BMS) Do? As the battery discharges (powering your devices), lithium-ions flow from the anode to the cathode and pass through a separator, which forces the electrons to power your electronics. Popular cathode materials include lithium iron phosphate, lithium cobalt oxide, and lithium manganese oxide.īetween the anode and cathode is the liquid electrolyte, usually made of lithium salt.

In most lithium-ion cells, manufacturers make the anode out of graphite. Each lithium-ion cell has an anode, a cathode, an electrolyte, and a separator. To understand how a rechargeable lithium battery works, we must first understand the components inside the battery. So, what actually happens when you recharge a lithium-ion battery? Let’s explore how a lithium battery works and what happens inside the cells when you charge it. What Happens When You Recharge a Lithium Battery? Lithium-Ion Batteries like our Battle Born LiFePO4 packs are rechargeable. Lithium-ion batteries are used for everything from earbuds to home backup power systems. This means that the lithium ions can move in two directions: from the anode to the cathode while discharging and from the cathode to the anode when recharging. We call this type of cell a secondary cell. Lithium-ion batteries, on the other hand, are rechargeable. These types of button cell lithium batteries are common but not rechargeable. Nevertheless, once they’re done, they’re done, and must be disposed of. They’re great for watches, smoke detectors, and pacemakers–all of which need constant and continuous power. These batteries are very energy-dense and can store and emit power for long periods. Lithium batteries refer to what we call primary cell batteries that you can’t recharge. To help understand this concept better, let’s talk about the difference between lithium batteries and lithium-ion batteries.

No, all lithium batteries are not rechargeable. When Should You Recharge Your Lithium-Ion Battery?.

How Many Times Can You Recharge a Lithium Battery?.

Do Rechargeable Lithium Batteries Need a Special Charger?.

How Does Recharging a Lithium-Ion Battery Work?.

What Does the Battery Management System (BMS) Do?.

What Happens When You Recharge a Lithium Battery?.

Are All Lithium Batteries Rechargeable?.

Rechargeable lithium batteries