Is LiFePO4 the same as lithium ion?

Individual LiFePO4 cells have a nominal voltage of about 3.2V or 3.3V. We use multiple cells in series (usually 4) to make up a lithium iron phosphate battery pack.

• Using four lithium iron phosphate cells in series, gives us roughly ~12.8-14.2 volts pack when full. This is the closest thing we’re going to find to a traditional lead-acid or AGM battery.

• Lithium iron phosphate cells have greater cell density than lead acid, at a fraction of the weight.

• Lithium iron phosphate cells have less cell density than lithium ion. This makes them less volatile, safer to use, an offers almost an one-to-one replacement for AGM packs.

• To reach the same density as lithium-ion cells, we need to stack lithium iron phosphate cells in parallel to increase their capacity. So lithium iron phosphate battery packs with the same capacity of a lithium ion cell, will be larger, as it requires more cells in parallel to achieve the same capacity.

• Lithium iron phosphate cells can be used in high- temperature environments, where lithium ion cells should never be used above +60 Celsius.

• The typical estimated life of a Lithium iron phosphate battery is 1500-2000 charge cycles for up to 10 years.

• Typically a lithium iron phosphate pack will hold its charge for 350 days.

• lithium iron phosphate cells have four times (4x) the capacity of lead acid batteries.

Individual Lithium-ion cells usually have a nominal voltage of 3.6V or 3.7 volts. We use multiple cells in series (usually 3) to make up a ~12 volt lithium ion battery pack.

• To use lithium-ion cells for a 12v power bank, we place them 3 in series to get a 12.6 volt pack. This is the closest we can get to the nominal voltage of a sealed lead acid battery, using lithium ion cells

• Lithium ion cells have a higher cell density than lithium iron phosphate we spoke about above. This means we use fewer of them for the desired capacity. Higher cell density comes at the expensive of greater volatility.

• As with lithium iron phosphate, we can also stack Lithium-ion cells in parallel to increase the capacity of our packs.

• The typical estimated life of a Lithium Ion battery is two to three years or 300 to 500 charge cycles.

• Typically a Lithium-Ion pack will hold its charge for 300 days.