Who is Envision AESC?

If you are interested in electric vehicles, you may have heard of Envision AESC, a battery technology company that claims to be the world’s leading provider of lithium-ion batteries for EVs. This innovative company is the leader of Formula E racing in 2023. But who is Envision AESC and what makes them stand out in the competitive battery market? Here are some facts you should know about this company.

Envision AESC was established in 2007 as a joint venture between Nissan, NEC and Tokin Corporation, under the name Automotive Energy Supply Corporation (AESC).
The company focused on developing and producing batteries for Nissan’s electric and hybrid vehicles, such as the Nissan Leaf, using innovative materials to increase energy density and decrease cost. [1] [2]
In 2018, Nissan sold its battery businesses, including AESC, to Envision Group, a Chinese renewable energy company that also owns Envision Digital, a global leader in AIoT (artificial intelligence of things) solutions. Envision Group renamed AESC as Envision AESC and acquired the 49% stake held by NEC. The deal was valued at around $1 billion. [3] [4]
Envision AESC has four battery production plants around the world: in Zama, Japan; Sunderland, UK; Smyrna, USA; and Wuxi, China. The company also has two R&D centers in Japan and the USA. The company employs around 5,000 people globally and has an annual production capacity of 7.5 GWh. [5] [6]
Envision AESC’s batteries use a lithium manganese oxide (LMO) chemistry with a manganese spinel cathode, which offers high power density, long cycle life, safety and low cost. The company also uses laminated cells, which have better thermal management and packaging efficiency than cylindrical or prismatic cells. The company’s flagship product is the Gen5 battery, which has a gravimetric energy density of 265 Wh/kg and a volumetric energy density of 700 Wh/L. [7] [8]
Envision AESC’s vision is to turn electric vehicles into green mobile personal energy sources that can participate in the renewable energy eco-system. The company leverages Envision Group’s AIoT platform, EnOS, to connect its batteries with smart grids, smart charging networks, renewable energy sources and other devices. The company aims to create a dynamic balance between supply and demand of clean energy and enable vehicle-to-grid (V2G) and vehicle-to-home (V2H) applications. [9] [10]
Envision AESC is also working on developing next-generation batteries that can offer higher energy density, lower cost and longer range for EVs. The company expects to start producing batteries that can give EVs a range of at least 1,000 km (620 miles) in 2024. The company also plans to expand its production capacity to 30 GWh by 2025 and 110 GWh by 2030. [11] [12]
Envision makes a 300ah LFP format cell named the Envision 305 which has been for sale in 2023 for about $75USD wholesale.

Envision AESC is a battery technology company that has a rich history, a global presence, a unique chemistry, a visionary strategy and an ambitious roadmap. The company is poised to play a key role in the electrification of mobility and the decarbonization of energy.

References:

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automotive_Energy_Supply_Corporation
[2] https://www.envision-aesc.com/about-us/
[3] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nissan-battery-sale-envision-idUSKBN1KO0QX
[4] https://www.envision-group.com/news/envision-group-completes-acquisition-of-nissans-electric-battery-business-and-announces-new-board-of-directors
[5] https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/163739-80
[6] https://www.envision-aesc.com/locations/
[7] https://www.envision-aesc.com/technology/
[8] https://chargedevs.com/features/envision-aesc-the-worlds-leading-battery-technology-provider/
[9] https://www.envision-aesc.com/vision/
[10] https://www.envision-group.com/news/envision-group-launches-worlds-most-advanced-battery-platform-for-electric-vehicles/
[11] https://www.carscoops.com/2022/02/chinas-envision-aesc-to-make-batteries-with-1000-km-of-range-in-2024/
[12] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-21/china-s-envision-aesc-plans-to-quadruple-ev-battery-capacity

Are second life Lithium Batteries safe?

Are you considering repurposing battery cells and building your own Powerwall or similar Energy storage system?

We are going to take a look at what you must understand before starting a project of this type.

The Chemistry

NMC or NCA

Both of these chemistries are considered dangerous, and they should be avoided, especially in any second life application. And even more importantly in any residential application. There is a real risk of a short circuit, leading to thermal runaway. Both of these chemistries will be extremely difficult to extinguish. And may explode, and burn anything and everything around it down to ashes, Firefighters will not try to extinguish a Lithium Battery fire, as they know they have no option but to wait for the

The capacity loss of LiBs is generally considered to be linear, with end of life typically around 75% to 80% state of health (SoH) and the final end-of-life stage around 50% to 60% SoH. However, at some point a severe and potentially dangerous deterioration can occur and lead to an increased ageing rate. The time at which this occurs, referred to as the “knee,” is difficult to predict. It can occur at a higher SoH than expected, thereby increasing the risk of thermal runaway, internal short circuits, and joule heating, according to the report.

Lithium Iron Phosphate

Although it is possible for LFP to enter thermal runaway, it is very unlikely, and usually only happens when external heat is present, it can also happen when the cell is at 100% SOC and is supplied with a very high current, such as

What is Thermal Runaway?

Who is EVE Energy?

EVE Energy is a technology-driven company focused on the development of lithium batteries. Their products are widely used in the IoT, EV and ESS. Eve Energy makes prismatic, pouch and cylindrical battery cells. Along with a range of other batteries, including Lithium metal non rechargeable batteries.

Company Website – www.evebattery.com
EVE Energy Co., Ltd. (stock code: 300014)

Household ESS, Utility ESS, and Telecom ESS with products covering cells, modules, battery systems, battery management systems, and other comprehensive solutions

Lithium Battery-school

admin charging, how to, lead acid, Lifepo4, vs

How does charging differ between LiFePO4 batteries and lead-acid batteries?

How does the charging process differ between LiFePO4 batteries and lead-acid batteries?

The charging process for LiFePO4 batteries and lead-acid batteries is different in several key ways.

LiFePO4 batteries are typically charged using a constant voltage charging method, where the voltage is held at a constant level until the current drops to a certain level. This helps to prevent overcharging and extend the life of the battery.

In contrast, lead-acid batteries are often charged using a constant current charging method, where the current is held at a constant level until the voltage reaches a certain level. This method is less precise and can result in overcharging and shorter battery life.

Additionally, LiFePO4 batteries have a higher charging voltage and require a special charging profile to avoid damaging the cells. Lead-acid batteries have a lower charging voltage and can be charged using a standard charging profile.

It’s also worth noting that LiFePO4 batteries are more tolerant to overcharging compared to lead-acid batteries, and they have a lower risk of sulfation, which is a common problem with lead-acid batteries.

What is the ideal voltage to charge lifepo4?

The ideal voltage to charge a LiFePO4 battery varies depending on the specific battery and the manufacturer’s specifications, but a typical voltage range is between 3.5V to 3.65V per cell. For a 12V LiFePO4 battery, the charging voltage should be between 14v and 14.4v

It’s important to follow the manufacturer’s recommended charging voltage and to use a charger specifically designed for LiFePO4 batteries, as charging a LiFePO4 battery with the wrong voltage or using an inappropriate charger can result in reduced performance and shorter battery life.

LiFePO4 batteries require a multi-stage charging process that includes a constant voltage charge and a topping charge. The constant voltage charge is applied until the current drops to a certain level, at which point a float charge is applied to bring the voltage to the maximum level. The multi-stage charging process helps to prevent overcharging and extend the life of the battery. The float charge is a stage in the charging process for LiFePO4 batteries that occurs after the main constant voltage charge stage. During the float charge, the voltage is held at a slightly lower level than the maximum voltage to prevent overcharging and to ensure that the battery stays fully charged. The float charge serves several purposes. First, it helps to balance the voltage between the cells in the battery, ensuring that all cells are charged to the same level. Second, it helps to prevent overcharging, which can reduce the overall life of the battery. Finally, it helps to maintain the battery in a fully charged state, ready for use when needed.

The exact voltage and duration of the float charge will depend on the specific battery and the manufacturer’s specifications. It’s important to follow the manufacturer’s recommendations to ensure that the battery is charged correctly and to maximize the performance and lifespan.

Lithium Battery-school

admin CATL, LFP, Lifepo4

Who is CATL?

CATL is the leading Lithium and as of 2023 Sodium-ion battery manufacturer in China and the World.

CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited) is a Chinese battery manufacturer that produces lithium-ion and as of 2023 sodium-ion batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage systems. The company was founded in 2011 and has quickly become the leading EV battery manufacturer in the world. It supplies batteries to a number of major automakers, including Tesla, Volkswagen, BMW, and Toyota. CATL has also established a number of partnerships and collaborations with other companies in the EV and energy storage industries.

The company provides research and development, production, and sale of electric vehicle and energy storage battery systems. It also provides battery management systems, materials, battery cells, and battery recycling and reuse systems. These batteries are used in electric passenger vehicles, electric buses, electric trucks, and other special vehicles; and spare parts. The products of energy storage systems find their applications in renewable energy, communication base stations, grid frequency modulation, commercial and industrial buildings, and household energy storage. It also operates its business from Ningde, Fujian, China also has production in Germany, and overseas offices in Japan, France, and the USA regions.

LiFePo4 Video from CATL

Official CATL VIDEO

HOW China’s CATL makes its batteries

Lithium Battery-school

admin 100AH, 48v, fix, LFP, Lifepo4, off-grid, old

Pylontech First Gen 8 years old – Lifepo4 with bad cells – Repaired

Model – Extra 2000 – First generation Pylontech Lifepo4 Battery

Thanks to Nicolas for making this video of his First generation Lifepo4 Battery repair.

Here we see an old Pylontech battery with a capacity of only 10% original capacity, and over the course of 2 youtube videos, Nicolas is able to cut out a couple of bad pouch cells and restore the battery to approx 80% again.
Well done Nicholas

Nicholas Howell Youtube subs – 1.61K subscribers

Part 1

Part 2

Lithium Battery-school Blog

admin cycle life, LFP, Lifepo4, lifespan

What is the best way to prolong the life of lifepo4 batteries?

There are several steps you can take to prolong the life of Lifepo4 batteries, including the following:

Store the batteries properly: Lifepo4 batteries should be stored in a cool, dry place at a temperature of around 15-20 degrees Celsius (60-68 degrees Fahrenheit). Avoid storing the batteries in extreme temperatures, as this can damage the cells and reduce their lifespan.
Charge and discharge the batteries properly: Lifepo4 batteries should be charged and discharged within the recommended voltage range to ensure optimal performance and longevity. Overcharging or deep discharging the batteries can damage the cells and reduce their lifespan.
Avoid exposing the batteries to high temperatures: Lifepo4 batteries are sensitive to high temperatures and can degrade quickly when exposed to them. Avoid exposing the batteries to high temperatures, such as by keeping them out of direct sunlight or away from heat sources.
Use a battery management system (BMS): A BMS can help to optimize the charging and discharging of Lifepo4 batteries, protecting them from overcharging, deep discharging, and other factors that can damage the cells and reduce their lifespan.

By following these steps, you can help to prolong the life of your Lifepo4 batteries and ensure they perform at their best for as long as possible.

Bloating

Lifepo4 batteries, like all lithium-ion batteries, can expand or “bloat” when they are overcharged or charged too quickly. The specific voltage at which this can occur will depend on the specific chemistry and construction of the battery, as well as the charging conditions and other factors. In general, however, it is important to avoid overcharging Lifepo4 batteries and to charge them at a slow, steady rate to prevent bloating and other damage to the cells. Most Lifepo4 batteries are designed to be charged to a maximum voltage of around 3.65-3.7 volts per cell, and charging them above this level can cause bloating and other damage to the cells. It is important to refer to the manufacturer’s instructions for the specific charging voltage and charging rate for your Lifepo4 batteries.

REAL WORLD Cycle life

Good quality Lifepo4 cells should achieve about 2,000 deep discharge/charge cycles, averaging 1 cycle per day would allow for 5.5 years of use before a noticeable loss of capacity.

Shallow cycles are the best way to extend the lifespan, which means not going below about 30% of the remaining capacity. And not above 90% SOC. For use in residential and commercial purposes, We at LIFEPO4 Australia would recommend sizing and using your battery within these parameters.

10,000 shallow discharge/charge cycles would last around 13+ years.

LFP vs NMC lithium battery degradation-test-results — Its likely the LFP was shallow cycles at a low C rate such as below 0.2C

Lithium Battery-school

admin capacity, how to, internal resistance, Lifepo4, Performance

LIFEPO4 – Internal Resistance, capacity, and its Performance

Cell capacity is of limited use if a battery pack cannot deliver the stored energy effectively; a battery also needs low internal resistance. Measured in milliohms (mΩ), resistance is extremely important the higher the C rate of the battery; the lower the resistance, the less restriction the pack encounters. This is especially important in heavy loads such as power tools and electric powertrains. High resistance causes the battery to heat up and the voltage to drop under load, this is bad for the cell, and the battery, this is what causes degradation and aging, loss of performance, and ultimately EOL(end of life)

A grade (what we now call Automotive Grade) LiFePo4 has a very low internal resistance and the battery responds well to high-current bursts that last for a few seconds to a few minutes (see the individual cell specification sheet). Compared to LFP Lead acid and inherent sluggishness, however, lead acid does not perform well on a sustained high current discharge; the battery soon gets tired and needs rest to recover. LFP however, suffers much less, And A-grade LFP is sorted by the factory because it meets the manufacturer’s specifications. This tells the manufacturer a lot about the cell, its expected performance, and its lifespan.

LFP is highly efficient and can have different performance characteristics

If we look at the A-grade EVE LF280 cells we can see the performance and efficiency. Very high!!!
Discharge capacity/nominal
capacity×100％

A）0.33CA ≥100％
B）0.5CA ≥98％
C）1CA ≥97％

We need to compare Lead Acid again for learning purposes, Some sluggishness is apparent in all batteries at different degrees but it is especially pronounced with lead acid. This hints that power delivery is not based on internal resistance alone but also on the responsiveness of the chemistry, as well as temperature. In this respect, nickel- and lithium-based technologies are more responsive than lead acid.

The internal resistance of Lithium-based batteries also increases with use and aging but improvements have been made with electrolyte additives to keep the buildup of films on the electrodes under control. With all batteries, SoC affects the internal resistance. Lithium has higher resistance at full charge and also at end of discharge with a low resistance area in the middle. This is important to note, as when you are caring for the cells, you can very simply make the judgment that keeping your Lithium cells inside the 80% window is going to minimise degradation.

The 10%-80%-10% rule for Lithium is a good one to follow. This means try to keep you cells between 10% and 90% State of Charge.

A look at the Manufacturing Process

Next-Generation Automotive M3P Batteries by CATL

CATL, the world’s largest Lithium Battery Manufacturer, has recently announced a new battery type, with a modified version of the LMFP chemistry, LMFP stands for Lithium Maganese Ferro Phosphate, its very similar to the LFP (LiFePo4) chemistry only that the manganese allows for the voltage to rise from the 3.2 to around 4.1v, this means there is higher energy inside the same form factor or another way to say that is the higher energy density.

CATL doesn’t do things unless they are tested, thought out, and ready for mass production.

Why Voltage matters

My two cents, what do we know about voltage and the effect it has on every type of Lithium Battery cells?

We know that the lower the nominal and fully charged voltage the longer the lifespan, if you look at LTO (Lithium Titanium oxide aka Li2TiO3) the nominal voltage lies at 2.3v and the lifespan can reach 20000 cycles with the fully charged voltage at only 2.8v.

Or if we look at what’s called ternary lithium cells, such as NMC (Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide aka LiNiMnCoO₂ and NCA (Lithium Nickel Cobalt Aluminum Oxide aka LiNiCoAlO₂) chemistry, the ones currently used by most Tesla’s (excluding the Chinese made Tesla’s that are not performance models) the nominal voltage is 3.7, but the full charged voltage is 4.2v, which is high, and it’s known that higher voltages translate into lower lifespans, which is why LFP does pretty well and can reach 6000 or even 10,000 cycles if treated well. It is also reported that Tesla will be one of the largest customers of CATL for the new M3P battery, with reports that the Tesla Semi will also use them.

So with rumors of the new M3P battery being manufactured by CATL, what have they managed to do, that gives a lifespan similar to LFP but still with the higher operating voltage? At this point we don’t know, as the information is not known, at least from my research I can’t find any further details on what they have added to the chemistry to enable the lifespan such as LFP.

According to CNEVPost, the M3P cells use the same olivine structure as LFP batteries. However, they replace iron with magnesium, zinc, and aluminum. There is speculation as to whether the Chinese website meant manganese instead of magnesium, but the information has not been corrected according to Autoevolution, so we are left to speculation.

Official data shows that the energy density of the CATL (LiMnZnAl) batteries will be about 15-20% higher than that of the LFP types, which hovers around 210 kWh/kg. This is a huge increase, and it’s believed it’s at a similar cost as the LFP battery.

It is also reported that Sunwoda and Eve Energy are all in the early stages of producing LMFP, with samples already being delivered to their partners for testing.

At this stage, we believe at first it will be very hard to get your hands on these cells, so I would estimate 2024 or even 2025 before this cell could be used for energy storage like we do today with the LFP cells.

And we still believe that LFP will have a longer lifespan, simply because of the voltage. We also now recommend a 90% DOD charge profile. 2.8v bottom and 3.45v top for your battery pack. We also believe keeping the draw at under 0.5C is a really good idea if you are wanting to achieve the huge cycle numbers and still have a good battery a few years from now.

Sources
1. CATL Promises M3P Cells For 2023, But What Are They? – autoevolution
2. Tesla Model 3 With CATL’s M3P Battery to Launch in China, Offers Better Range, Lower Price – autoevolution
3. Rumor: China-Made Tesla Model 3 To Get CATL’s M3P Batteries (insideevs.com)
4. Tesla Semi Specs Change, Chinese Model 3 To Use CATL M3P Batteries – CleanTechnica
5. CATL to announce first vehicles to be powered by Qilin Battery on Aug 27 – CnEVPost

Lithium Battery-school News

admin LFP Fire, LFP Safety, Lifepo4

Is LiFePo4 LFP Lithium safe?

The question many people ask is are Lithium batteries safe?

Well, the answer may shock you, but it’s not totally safe from fire risk, and the evidence is clear, when you know where to look for the answers, we do know that LFP is pretty safe, especially from an explosion. But it can catch fire under the right circumstances, like a direct puncture, especially when fully charged.

Watch a collection of videos on Youtube

I’ve found a few youtube videos, that show real-world testing of Lithium Batteries

GWL

Testing of LiPo and LiFePo4

HighTechLab

Check out the HighTechLab on youtube for a real-life test.

Electric Chronicles

A test on the different plastic prismatic cells

Who is Envision AESC?

Are second life Lithium Batteries safe?