Chargers show promise on Li-ion batteries

AccelRate has passed a key milestone in the development of its high-speed charging for use with advanced lithium batteries.

AccelRate has passed a key milestone in the development of its high-speed charging for use with advanced lithium batteries.

Since August 2005, AccelRate has tested its patented charging algorithm with 60Ah cylindrical lithium-ion batteries provided by a leading designer and manufacturer of lithium ion rechargeable batteries.

These batteries are designed for high-energy applications including military, stationary and transportation use.

Early test results demonstrate the ability of AccelRate's patented technology to safely reduce the lithium-ion battery's charge time from 2h to less than 1.5h - a reduction of approximately 75% - without detrimental battery temperature escalation.

This feature should allow more robust battery performance and greatly reduce the concern about heat generation for high charge rate applications.

In the past, lithium-ion batteries could not be fast-charged due to heat escalation while charging and typically needed from two to five hours to fully charge.

Using AccelRate's "high-speed" battery charging technology, current lithium-ion cells can be fully charged in 30 minutes or less and based on further investigation, should ultimately maximise the cell life of the lithium-ion battery.

"Based on our early results, we are confident that AccelRate technology can and will reduce the charge time of advanced lithium batteries, similar to its validated 80% reduced charge time with conventional lead acid, nickel metal hydride and nickel cadmium batteries", said Reimar Koch, President and CEO of AccelRate Power Systems.

"This is an important milestone on our technology path which we will now feed into our product development activities to take advantage of the emerging market opportunities for lithium batteries".

Today, lithium-ion is the fastest growing battery and seen by many as the most promising battery chemistry for a variety of applications due to its leading energy-to-weight ratios, lack of memory effect and slow loss of charge when not in use.

These benefits make lithium-ion the ideal battery for portable and transportation applications.

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