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Index

Thereiscurrentlynosinglesolutionthatisbetterthananotherforallsituations,butlithiumionsystemsofferbettercostof
ownershipinanumberofsituations,specificallyhotclimates,despitethehigherinitialcost.

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AComparisonofLeadAcidto
LithiumioninStationary
StorageApplications
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CaliforniaRenewablesMarket

1. Introduction
Awidevarietyofenergystorageoptionsareavailabletodayforthe
stationarypowermarketcapacitors,compressedair,pumpedhydro,
flywheelsandrechargeablebatteriesareallvyingforastakeinthe
emergingroleofenergystorage.Eachtechnologyhasitsownmerits
basedonavarietyofapplicationspecificfactors.Thispaperwillfocus
onthecomparisonoftwobatterychemistries:leadacidandlithiumion
(Liion).Thegeneralconclusionofthecomparisonisthatwhilethe
mostcosteffectivesolutionisdependentuponanumberoffactors,
thereisalargemarketsegmentwherelithiumionhasalowercostof
ownershipwhencomparedtoleadacid.Thefigurebelowshowselevenvariablesthatareincludedinthedecisionofwhat
batterytypetoselectforagivensystem.

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classproducts
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FederalLoanGuarantee
ProgramforSolar?
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aretheFutureandtheKEYis
Storage
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nonelectrolytesbypseudo
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SOLARENERGY
APPLICATIONSIN
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PAKISTANANDBARRRIERS
INITSGROW
TwoCaseStudiesCedar
PointandCrossroads
GREENPLUG:THELITTLE
COMPANYTHATDID
CaseStudyDicksonMedical
Center

Interviews

Figure1:BatteryDesignConsiderations
Withinthescopeofoffgridrenewablesystems,leadacidandnickelbasedbatteriescurrentlydominatetheindustry.Nickel
batteries(NiCd,NiMH)arebeingphasedoutduetoacombinationofcostandenvironmentalfactors.Leadacidhasbeen
aroundforover100yearsandwillbeamarketforcefortheforeseeablefutureduetoitslowcostandestablished
manufacturingbase.Lithiumionisawellestablishedtechnologyforportableelectronicsbutisstillfindingitsroleinlarger
scaleapplicationsitisemergingasacontenderincertainstationaryapplicationswherevolume,weight,temperature
sensitivityorlowmaintenanceismoreimportantthaninitialcost.Thefollowingchartillustrateshowleadacidandlithiumion

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PVFleetManagement

fitintotherechargeablebatteryworld.

SolarProjectInsurance
TheSmartJunctionBoxfor
SolarPanelMonitoringand
Control
SolarPowerPurchase
Agreements(PPA)
MobileSolarSystem
Monitoring
TEEnergyandtheWind
Industry
SmartGridCommunications
IntelligentEnergyStorage
Systems
LithiumIonBatteryTechnology

Figure2:RechargeableBatteryTypes

FlexibleSolarModules

ReadPastIssues

2. BasicsofBatteries
2.1BasicsofLeadAcid
Leadacidbatterieshavebeenaroundformorethanacentury.Inthefullychargedstate,a2Velectricpotentialexists
betweenthecathodeandtheanode.Duringdischarge,electronsarepassedexternallythroughtheloadwhileinternal
chemicalreactionsattheinterfaceoftheelectrolyteandtheelectrodesworktobalancethechargeequilibrium.Figure3
illustratesthechemicalstatesofafullychargedanddischargedleadacidbattery.

Figure3:LeadAcidChargeStates
Leadacidbatteriescanbedividedintotwodistinctcategories:floodedandsealed/valveregulated(SLAorVRLA).The
twotypesareidenticalintheirinternalchemistry(showninFigure3).Themostsignificantdifferencesbetweenthetwo
typesarethesystemleveldesignconsiderations.FloodedleadacidbatteriesrequirethreethingsthatVRLAdont:
1. Uprightorientationtopreventelectrolyteleakage
2. Ventilatedenvironmenttodiffusegasescreatedduringcycling
3. Routinemaintenanceofelectrolyte
Duetothesedifferences,thelowercostoffloodedleadacidmustbebalancedagainsttheaddedcomplexityand
secondarycosts.VRLAbatteriesaredividedintotwocategories:GelandAbsorbedGlassMat(AGM).Thedifferent
namesreflectdifferentmethodsofcontainingtheelectrolyte.InGelbatteries,athickeningagentisaddedtoturnthe
electrolytefromliquidtogel.InAGMcells,aglassmatrixisusedtocontaintheliquidelectrolyte.
DeepcycleandshallowcycleleadacidbatteriescanbefoundinboththeVRLAandfloodedclasses.Shallowcycle
VRLAbatteriesarecommonlyusedforautomotivestart,light,ignition(SLI)batteriesthatmustdeliverhighpowerpulses
forshortdurations.Thestationarypowermarketusesdeepcyclesincethebatterieswilloftendischargeatalowrateover
thecourseofmultiplehours.
2.2BasicsofLithiumion
Theconceptofalithiumionbatterywasinitiallyconceivedinthe1970sandbegantoseewidespreadadoptionbythe
1990s.Thebasicmechanismisthatachargedlithiumionisshuttledbackandforthbetweenthecathodeandtheanode
duringchargeanddischarge.Figure4showsadiagramofaLiCoO2variationofthelithiumionfamily.

Figure4:Lithiumionreaction[i]
Chemistrydifferencesinthecathode,anode,andelectrolyteinfluencecellperformance,asdoespackaginggeometry.
Thecathodechemistryisthefactormostcommonlyalteredfromcellmanufacturertocellmanufacturerwithtermslike
LFP,NCM,NCA,Cobalt,andManganesereflectingthecathodechemistryclass.Over90%oflithiumionanodesare
comprisedofgraphitesiliconandtitaniumbasedmaterialsareoccasionallyusedtogetbetterlifeandpowerperformance
inexchangeforsignificantlyhighercost.
Theelectrolyteexistsinliquidform,butforlithiumpolymercells,theelectrolyteisabsorbedinapolymermembrane.
Thisallowsforcellmanufacturerstouseapouchenclosureonthecellratherthanthemetalcasingusedwhenliquid
electrolyteispresentincylindricalandprismaticshapedcells.Eachofthesevariationsinfluencestheperformanceofa
lithiumioncell.
Inspiteofthevariouschemicalvariations,lithiumionbatteriescangenerallybeseparatedintotwogroups:lithiumiron

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phosphate(LFP,LiFePO4)andmetaloxides(NCM,NCA,Cobalt,Manganese).Table1outlinesthedifferencesbetween
thetwochemistryclassesonacelllevel.Thevaluesinthetablereflectaveragevaluesasthereisvariationineach
class.

Table1:Lithiumionsubcategorycomparison
LFP

LiNCM

Voltage

3.3Vnominal(23.6V/cell)

3.7Vnominal(2.74.2V/cell)

EnergyDensity

300Wh/L

735Wh/L

SpecificEnergy

128Wh/kg

256Wh/kg

Power

1000W/kg

512W/kg

CycleLife

2,000@100%DoD

750@100%DoD

3,000@80%DoD

1,900@80%DoD

CalendarLife

6years

8years

Maxrecommended
temperature

40C

55C

Safety

High

Moderate

CommercialSuppliers

A123,Valence,BAK,BYD,K2,
Lishen,manyChinesevendors

Sanyo,Panasonic,Samsung,
DowKokam,Sony,LGChem,
Moli

Alllithiumioncellsaredeepcyclemeaningthattheyhavetheabilitytobefullychargedanddischarged.Thelifeofthe
batterywillsignificantlyincreaseifthedepthofeachdischargeislimitedto80%oftheratedcapacity.

3. Comparinglithiumiontoleadacid
Table2providesabriefcomparisonofleadacidtolithiumion(LiNCM)onapacklevel.Itshouldbenotedthatboth
chemistrieshaveawiderangeofparametervalues,sothistableisonlyasimplifiedrepresentationofaverycomplex
comparison.

Table2:BatteryTechnologyComparison

Floodedleadacid

VRLAleadacid

Lithiumion
(LiNCM)

EnergyDensity(Wh/L)

80

100

250

SpecificEnergy(Wh/kg)

30

40

150

Yes

No

No

65

120

600[1]

1,200@50%

1,000@50%DoD

1,900@80%DoD

50%

50%

80%

RegularMaintenance
InitialCost($/kWh)
CycleLife
Typicalstateofchargewindow
Temperaturesensitivity
Efficiency

Voltageincrements

Degradessignificantlyabove Degradessignificantlyabove Degradessignificantlyabove

25C
25C
45C
100%@20hrrate

100%@20hrrate

100%@20hrrate

80%@4hrrate

80%@4hrrate

99%@4hrrate

60%@1hrrate

60%@1hrrate

92%@1hrrate

2V

2V

3.7V

Aninterestingpointinthistableisthatthedifferentchemistrieshavedifferenttypicalstateofchargewindows.The
implicationofthisisthataleadacidsystemmusthavealargernameplateenergycapacitythanthelithiumionsystemto
havethesameamountofavailableenergy.
Giventhesignificantdifferencesintechnicalandeconomiccharacteristicsofthebatterytypes,itstandstoreasonthatthe
bestsolutionforwhichbatterytypetouseisapplicationspecific.Followingisamoreindepthlookatsomeofthetopics
addressedinTable2.

3.1CycleLifeComparison
Lithiumionhassignificantlyhighercyclelifethanleadacidindeepdischargeapplications.Thedisparityisfurther
increasedasambienttemperaturesincrease.Thecyclelifeofeachchemistrycanbeincreasedbylimitingthedepthof
discharge(DoD),dischargerate,andtemperature,butleadacidisgenerallymuchmoresensitivetoeachofthese

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factors.
Figure5showscyclelifedataforalithiumionpackcomparedtoanAGMstyleVRLAbatteryinamoderateclimate
(averagetemperatureof77F).Ascyclelifeisinfluencedbydepthofdischarge,thefigureshowsmultipleDoD
percentagesfortheleadacid.ItcanbeseenthattheAGMpackmustbelimitedtoa30%depthofdischargetoget
comparablelifetoalithiumionthatisat75%depthofdischarge.ThismeansthattheAGMbatterymustbe2.5times
largerincapacitythanthelithiumiontogetcomparablelife.

Figure5:Cyclelife,moderateclimate
Inhotclimateswheretheaveragetemperatureis92F,thedisparitybetweenlithiumionandleadacidisfurther
exacerbated.Thecyclelifeforleadacid(floodedandVRLA)dropsto50%ofitsmoderateclimateratingwhilelithiumion
willremainstableuntiltemperaturesroutinelyexceed120F.Figure6illustratesthedisparity.

Figure6:Cyclelife,extremeclimate

3.2RatePerformance
Whendeterminingwhatcapacityofbatterytouseforasystem,acriticalconsiderationforleadacidishowlongthe
systemwilltaketodischarge.Theshorterthedischargeperiod,thelesscapacityisavailablefromtheleadacidbattery.
A100AhVRLAbatterywillonlydeliver80Ahifdischargedoverafourhourperiod.Incontrast,a100Ahlithiumionsystem
willachieveover92Ahevenduringa30minutedischarge.AsshowninFigure7,thisconditionmakeslithiumionvery
wellsuitedforapplicationswherefulldischargeoccursinlessthaneighthours.

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Figure7:Capacityvs.DischargeRate

3.3ColdWeatherPerformance
Bothleadacidandlithiumionlosecapacityincoldweatherenvironments,butasshowninFigure8,lithiumionloses
significantlylesscapacityasthetemperaturedropsintothe20Crange.Therateofdischargeinfluencestheleadacid
performance,sotwodifferentrateshavebeenshownfortheVRLAbattery.

Figure8:CapacityAvailableversusTemperature

3.4EnvironmentalImpact
Leadacidbatteriescomparepoorlytolithiumionwithregardstoenvironmentalfriendliness.Leadacidbatteriesrequire
manytimesmorerawmaterialthanlithiumiontoachievethesameenergystorage,makingamuchlargerimpactonthe
environmentduringtheminingprocess.Theleadprocessingindustryisalsoveryenergyintensive,leadingtolarge
amountsofpollution.Althoughleadishighlyhazardoustohumanhealth,themanufacturingmethodsandbattery
packagingmakethehumanrisknegligible.Ontheplusside,over97%ofleadacidbatteriesintheUnitedStatesare
recycled,whichmakesahugeimpactontheenvironmentalequation.

[ii]

[iii]

Lithiumisnotwithoutitsownenvironmentalproblems. Themajorcomponentsofalithiumioncellrequiretheminingof
lithiumcarbonate,copper,aluminum,andironore.Lithiumminingspecificallyisresourceintensive,butlithiumisonlya
minorportionofthebatterycellbymass,sothealuminumandcopperenvironmentalimpactsaremuchmoresignificant.
Thelithiumionrecyclingindustryisonlyinitsinfancyrightnow,butthecellmaterialshaveshownhighabilityfor
recoveryandrecyclability,soitisexpectedthatlithiumionrecyclingrateswillrivalleadacid.

3.5Safety
Leadacidandlithiumioncellsarebothcapableofgoingintothermalrunawayinwhichthecellrapidlyheatsandcan
emitelectrolyte,flames,anddangerousfumes.Thelikelihoodandconsequencesofaneventarehigherforlithiumionas
ithasahigheramountofenergyinasmallervolume.MultiplecellandpacksafetyprecautionsshowninFigure9are
takentopreventtriggerevents,suchasshortcircuitsandoverheating,butincidentsstilloccur.

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Figure9:Lithiumionsafetymechanisms

3.6VoltageComparison
Whenevaluatingiflithiumionandleadacidcanbeinterchangeablewithinagivenelectricalsystem,themostimportant
factoristhevoltagerangeofeachchemistry.Figure10showsacomparisonofthreebatterypacksthatarenominally
called24Vbatteries.TheLiNMCnominalvoltageistechnically25.9VandtheLFPistechnically25.6V.
Theendresultofthefigureisthatlithiumionhasgoodagreementwithleadacidsystemsforamajorityofthevoltage
range,butanyelectricalsystemwouldhavetobeabletoaccommodatethehigherchargingvoltageoflithiumiontoget
optimalperformance.Mostrenewableenergybatterychargecontrollersanddischargeinvertersarecapableofbeing
adjustedbetweenleadacidandlithiumion.Chargecontrollerandinvertermanufacturersandlithiumioncompaniescan
assistinensuringsystemcompatibility.

Figure10:Voltagecomparison

4. CaseStudy
Giventhevariationoftechnicalqualitiesbetweenleadacidandlithiumion,anygivencasestudywontnecessarilyapplytoa
broaderrangeofapplications.Thesystemeconomicsandresultofthestudyareverysensitivetoenvironmentalconditions,
availablevolume,charge/dischargerate,remotenessofinstallationandevenlocallaws.
Anemergingmarketwherestationaryenergystorageisexpectedtoplayasignificantroleistheelectrificationofrural
villages.Thecosttoruntransmissionlinesisoftenprohibitive(>$1M/mile),sorenewablesystemswithenergystorageoffer
anattractiveoption.Coincidentally,manyoftheprospectiveinstallationsitesareinwarmerclimates,whichtipsthebalance
towardlithiumion.Thecasestudywillanalyzemoderateandhightemperatureinstallations.

Table3:GenericSystemSpecifications
EnergyDelivered

50kWh

Dischargerate

5hours

Cyclefrequency

1cycle/day

Averageambienttemperature

Moderate:25C/77F
Hot:33C/92F

Systemlifespan

1,900cycles/5.2years

Thesitepreparation,delivery,andinstallationcostswillbecalculatedbasedona5.6:1volumeratiooftheleadacidsystem
comparedtothelithiumion.Thisnumberisbasedonthefactthatlithiumionhas3.5timestheenergydensityofVRLAand
usesan80%DoDrangecomparedto50%forVRLA.VRLAisusedinthisanalysisbecauseitisapopularbatteryforgrid
storageandoffgridenergystorageapplications.
BasedonthesystemlifegoalandratedcyclelifeofVRLAcomparedtolithiumion,theVRLAsystemwillhavetobereplaced
onceduringthelifespanoftheprojectforthemoderateclimateandthreetimesforthehotclimate.Inbothclimates,the
lithiumionwillnothavetobereplaced.
Thelifetimecost,measuredin$/kWh,isthecriticalnumbertounderstandthesystemeconomics.Tocalculatethis,thesum
ofthebattery,installationandtransportationcostsismultipliedbythenumberoftimesthatanewsystemisrequiredoverthe
projectperiodincludingtheoriginalinstall.Theproductofthismultiplicationisdividedbythenetenergythroughputofthe
battery(50kWh/cycle,365cycles/year,5.2years).ResultsaresummarizedinTable4.
Table4:LifetimecostcomparisonofVRLAtoLiion

VRLA

VRLA

(moderateclimate:25C)

(hotclimate:33C)

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Systemsize

100kWh

100kWh

62.5kWh

BatteryCost

$12,000($120/kWh)

$12,000($120/kWh)

$37,500($600/kWh)

CycleLife

1,000@50%DoD

500@50%DoD

1,900@80%DoD

Installation

$20/kWh

$20/kWh

$3.6/kWh

Transportation

$28/kWh

$28/kWh

$5/kWh

$0.34/kWhthroughput

$0.67/kWhthroughput

$0.40/kWhthroughput

Lifetimecost

Theanalysisindicatesthatlithiumionhasan18%higherlifetimecostwhencomparedtoVRLAinmoderateclimates,butis
muchmorecosteffectiveinhotclimates.BasedonFigure11,thereisasignificantareaoftheworldthatseesaverage
temperatureshighenoughtodecreasethelifeofleadacidbatteries.Afactornotrepresentedinthefigureisthatthebattery
systemsareoftenhousedinenclosuresthatseeinternaltemperatures10Chigherthantheairtemperatureduetosolar
insolation,whichwouldfurtherdecreasetheperformanceofleadacid.Theaveragetemperatureisalsonotcompletely
representativeofhowmuchtimeisspentatextremetemperatureswherethedegradationacceleratesinleadacidsystems
(e.g.onehourspentat40Candonehourspentat20Chasaworseimpactonthebatterycomparedtotwohoursspendat
30C).

Figure11:AnnualGlobalTemperature[iv]
5. Conclusions
Leadacidandlithiumionofferprosandconsforthestationaryenergystorageindustry.Whencalculatingthebalanceofthe
prosandconsforaspecificapplication,manyfactorsmustbeconsidered.Theimportanceofinitialcost,lifetime,weight,
volume,temperaturesensitivity,maintenanceaccessandaccesstoproductallplayaroleinbatteryselection.
Thereiscurrentlynosinglesolutionthatisbetterthananotherforallsituations,butlithiumionsystemsofferbettercostof
ownershipinanumberofsituations,specificallyhotclimates,despitethehigherinitialcost.
[1]Thereisawidepricerangeforlithiumion.$600/kWhrepresentsestimatedpriceatmoderateproductionvolumes.Asimilar
conceptappliestoleadacid.Therearevariousqualitylevelsofleadacid,sosomeleadacidmayhavebettercyclelife,but
willhaveahighercost.
[i]AlHallajS,SelmanJ.Thermalmodelingofsecondarylithiumbatteriesofelectricvehicle/hybridelectricvehicle
applications.JPowerSources.2002:110341348.
[ii]http://www.batterycouncil.org/
[iii]Environ.Sci.Technol.2010,44,6550655
[iv]RobertA.RohdeforGlobalWarmingArt.

Comments(2)
PostedbyDavidFreemanon06/25/14,08:38PM

@Scott,becausetheDOD(depthofdischarge)formoststarterbatteriesis~510%.Thisisrelatedtodeepdischarge
batteriesthatwillsee>50%DOD.Telecombatteriescanlastseeminglyforever,butaredesignedforfloating(<5%DOD)
throughouttheirlifetime.Startdrainingthoseandthelifetimewilldropto500cycle.

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PostedbyScottKennellyon04/02/14,06:46PM

Theanalysisdependstotallyontheconstructionofthebatteries.Ihaveseenleadacidbatteriesthathavelastedalmost100
years.Thisisduetotheirconstruction...thematerialstheyweremadewith,suchashigherqualityplastics,purelead,and
pureacidandwater.Theyaremaintainedproperly,withpurewater...notwaterthathasallsortsofimpuritiesandadditives
init,likechlorine,calcium,etc.Thereisareasonsomeautomotiveleadacidbatterieshavea3yearwarranty,whenothers
havea5yearwarranty(orlonger).Iwouldalsoliketopointoutthatanexpensiveleadacidbattery,likeatopoftheline
automotivebatteryfromWalMartcanhavean80monthwarranty,evenwhileautomotivebatteriesexistinveryhot
environments(underthecarhood,intheenginecompartment,whiletheengineisrunningveryveryhot).Theystillhave80
monthwarranties.EvenifWalMartexpectsmostofthesebatteriestofailwithinthewarrantyperiod,theyarenotlikelytofail
injust4or5years.Howisthispossible,iftheassumptionsyoumakeinthisarticlearecorrect?

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