Marine LiFEPO4 Battery

Problem :

While current lead acid batteries are inexpensive they don’t provide the long range tha their newer lithium ion counterparts do.  The energy density of lithium ion batteries is in the range of 250-600 watt-hours per liter ( Wh/L ) versus 80-90 Wh/L for lead acid batteries.  In short, lead acid batteries take up more space and can take up to 3 times longer to charge depending on the size of the battery.

Solution :

Since Lithium-ion batteries have the highest energy density on the market we knew we needed to start there.  Next question was the cathode material to use.  We decided a lithium iron phosphate (LiFEPO4) was the best material.  Its nontoxic and therefore disposal would not be as big of an issue as others such as cobalt.

Innovation : 

Our original design required a custom printed circuit board as a controller.  With our latest version we are using a commercial off the shelf board that has reduced expense and overall footprint.  The result is a much more compact unit that can easily scale.

Specifications :

• 90 Ah, 64V, 5.7kw