Lithium Safety Brochure

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Safety Lithium Battery 06.13.18
II. Lithium Chemistries
There are three main lithium chemistries.
III. Why do Lithium Ion batteries explode or catch fire?
The main cause of fire or explosion of a lithium ion battery is excessive overheating during charging, which causes a perpetuating
reaction called thermal runaway. Without proper management, thermal runaway may result in fire. The initial source of this
excessive heat is the instability of most lithium ion chemistries.
RELiON uses lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4), which is an inherently safe chemistry. The structural stability of LiFePO4 results in
significantly less heat generation compared to other lithium chemistries.
As with any battery chemistry, including lead-acid, proper installation is necessary, as a loose terminal connection can cause a
spark which may ignite.
Lithium Cobalt
LiCoO
2
Lithium Nickel-Manganese Cobalt Oxide (NMC)
LiNiMnCoO
2
Lithium Iron Phosphate
LiFePO
4
(LPF)
Source: Battery University
As shown in the diagrams above LiFePO
4
is the safest lithium chemistry.