Industrial Batteries

Industrial batteries are designed to last much longer and are deployed in extreme environments and remote locations that are difficult to access for battery replacement. Examples include industrial grade lithium primary batteries used to monitor structural stress on bridges, underwater seismic measurements, or scientific instruments in arctic climates.

Sometimes, the decision to use an industrial grade battery can be influenced by the sheer number of devices, automated metering reading (AMR) applications for water and gas utilities where the batteries may be relatively easy to access but having to systematically change-out tens of thousands of batteries each year would prove prohibitively expensive and could potentially overwhelm field service personnel.

Industrial batteries are rechargeable, which are commonly used as a power source in various data centers, grid storage, and telecommunication centers. Lithium-ion battery, nickel-based, and lead-based industrial batteries are the most common types used in industrial applications.

Lead acid batteries come with low volumetric and gravimetric energy densities around 60 to 75 Whr/L and 34 to 40 Whr/kg, respectively. As such, they are quite heavy and large for a given amount of energy storage.
Additionally, they have a cell voltage of almost 2.1 V, though they are commonly found as 6 V or 12 V batteries. They also have high self-discharge at 5% to 20%/month. Their low cost and high discharge rate capabilities distinguish these batteries from others. These batteries are also easy to charge and appropriate for automobiles but not for consumer electronics.

Industrial batteries are designed to last far longer than consumer batteries, and are used in more difficult environments. They are built to withstand a number of conditions that consumer batteries would not be able to withstand.

Primary: The most common form of primary (non-rechargeable) consumer battery is the alkaline cell, which consists of zinc powder in a suspension as the anode and compressed manganese dioxide as the cathode. Commonly used in flashlights, TV remotes, and smoke detectors, consumer alkaline cells are relatively short-lived not intended to perform like an industrial battery.

Primary industrial batteries tend to use more energetic lithium chemistries and higher quality materials, enabling them to outperform consumer grade cells. Since industrial batteries are made to last decades and operate in more extreme environments, quality control is paramount, as battery failure can be totally unacceptable for certain highly remote applications.

Rechargeable Li-ion: Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries come in both consumer and industrial grades. Consumer Li-ion batteries are often used in cell phones, laptops, and power tools. Li-ion chemistry has improved significantly over time and now offers increased energy density, which demands the use of overcharge protection circuitry to ensure safe operation and storage. Industrial grade rechargeable Li-ion batteries are now available that can operate for up to 20 years and 5,000 recharge cycles versus consumer Li-ion batteries that operate for just five 5 years and 500 recharge cycles. Industrial grade Li-ion rechargeable cells lend themselves to all sorts of energy harvesting applications that are emerging.

Maximum current versus self-discharge rate (surface area): A common battery trade-off is how much current it can provide relative to the amount of surface area between the active chemicals in the battery. Greater surface area means higher available potential current. Surface area also increases the self-discharge rate and reduces battery life.

Self-discharge: All batteries experience self-discharge. Over time, the chemicals in the batteries react and become depleted. Self-discharge is largely dependent on how much contact the chemical components have. Other factors that impact self-discharge are the construction type, the quality of the raw materials, and the battery chemistry.

Temperature range: The operating temperature range of a battery is primarily the result of the battery’s chemical make-up. Compounds like water freeze in low temperatures and reduce the chemical reaction, while other chemistries may not work in high temperatures or may cause the battery to fail prematurely.

Voltage and current output: The chemistry of a battery impacts its potential voltage, current, and capacity. Alkaline batteries can provide 1.5 volts per cell. Li-ion has about 3.6 volts per cell.

Ultimately, design and quality make the difference. When a battery is intended to last for decades, choosing the highest quality battery available can reduce the total cost of ownership over the lifetime of the device.