IEC battery designation

Example

Use in Lemonergy

Do not carry lithium-ion assumptions into every chemistry.

This is a reference concept. No executable Lemonergy block has been verified for this term.

Connected concepts

Related concepts from the knowledge graph. Connections show context, not cause and effect. Hover or focus a linked term for its definition.

Alkaline cell

The common 1.5 V single-use cell, with a zinc negative electrode and manganese dioxide positive in potassium hydroxide electrolyte. It is the reference point for most people’s idea of a battery, and is not rechargeable.

Coin cell

A small disc-shaped cell in a crimped steel case. Besides powering watches and key fobs, it is the standard laboratory format for testing a new electrode material against lithium metal.

IEC 60086

The IEC series for primary batteries. Part 1 sets the electrochemical system letters, designations and test conditions; part 2, split in 2026 into parts 2-1 and 2-2, the dimensions and performance of each standard size; part 3 watch batteries; part 4 the safety of lithium primaries; part 5 the safety of aqueous ones. Medical and equipment standards cite part 4.

Lithium-ion cell designation

The code IEC 61960-3 gives a portable lithium secondary cell: three letters, then its dimensions. The first letter names the negative electrode — I for carbon, L for lithium metal — the second the positive, such as C cobalt, N nickel, M manganese or Fp iron phosphate, and the third the shape, R round or P prismatic. INR18650 is a nickel-based cell 18 mm across and 65 mm long.

Lithium–manganese dioxide cell

The most common lithium primary chemistry: a lithium-metal negative, a heat-treated manganese dioxide positive and an organic electrolyte, giving 3 V. It fills CR-coded coin cells such as the CR2032 and cylindrical CR123A camera cells, and loses only about 1 % of its capacity a year in storage.

Zinc–carbon cell

The original dry cell, descended from Georges Leclanché’s 1866 design: a zinc can as negative, manganese dioxide packed around a carbon rod as positive, and an ammonium chloride or zinc chloride paste. It gives 1.5 V at the lowest cost but holds far less than an alkaline cell and tends to leak as the can is consumed.

References & further reading

Further reading on this topic

These sources provide broader context; they are not presented as citations for every statement in this entry.

1. Promise and reality of post-lithium-ion batteries with high energy densities

   Jang Wook Choi, Doron Aurbach · Nature Reviews Materials · 2016

   Topic background · Post-lithium-ion materials and battery concepts, including practical cell-level limitations; historical 2016 perspective.

2. DOE/EPRI 2013 Electricity Storage Handbook in Collaboration with NRECA

   Sandia National Laboratories · 2013

   Topic background · Storage technologies and grid services. The publisher notes that its historical cost and deployment figures are outdated.