602 Principles of Sustainable Energy Systems
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
General uses
• Small electronics
• Hybrid electric and electric cars
• Wireless communications
10.5.3 Lithium Ion
Pure lithium batteries are primary batteries and cannot be recharged due to the instability
of lithium. Li-ion batteries are secondary batteries and use lithium compounds instead of
pure metallic lithium for their anode. Li-ion batteries, similar to other rechargeable batter-
ies, have three primary functional components: the anode, the cathode, and the electrolyte.
Lithium ions move from the anode to the cathode during discharging and the opposite way
during charging. Most Li-ion batteries use a liquid organic electrolyte, but lithium polymer
(Li–Po) batter ...