Lithium-ion cell designation

Example

Use in Lemonergy

Separate chemistry from form factor.

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Cylindrical cell

A cell made by winding the electrodes into a jelly roll and sealing it in a round metal can. Sizes are named by their dimensions: a 21700 cell is 21 mm across and 70 mm long.

IEC 61960-3

The IEC performance standard for portable lithium secondary cells and batteries, cylindrical and prismatic, published in 2017 to replace IEC 61960 of 2011. It sets how rated capacity, low-temperature and high-rate discharge, cycle life and charge retention are measured and declared, and defines the cell designation code; IEC 62133-2 is its safety counterpart.

IEC battery designation

The code IEC 60086 gives a primary battery: a letter for the chemistry, a letter for the shape, then a size code. No letter means zinc–carbon, L alkaline, C lithium–manganese dioxide, F lithium–iron disulfide, S silver oxide and P zinc–air; R means round. So LR6 is an alkaline AA, R03 a zinc–carbon AAA and 6LR61 six alkaline cells forming a 9 V block.

LCO

The original lithium-ion positive material, LiCoO₂, still used in phones and laptops for its high volumetric energy density. Cobalt cost and limited thermal stability keep it out of vehicles.

NMC

A family of layered-oxide positive electrode materials, LiNiₓMnᵧCo₁₋ₓ₋ᵧO₂, used in many electric-vehicle cells. Variants are named by their metal ratio: NMC811 has eight parts nickel to one each of manganese and cobalt.

Prismatic cell

A cell in a rigid rectangular metal case, holding either a flattened jelly roll or stacked sheets. Large prismatic cells pack tightly into battery packs. Large prismatic cells are often named by thickness, width and height in millimetres, so a 71173207 cell is about 71 × 173 × 207 mm.

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. A reflection on lithium-ion battery cathode chemistry

   Arumugam Manthiram · Nature Communications · 2020

   Topic background · Layered oxides, spinels and polyanion cathodes; links between composition, structure and performance.