For anybody wanting to know a bit more about them....Here is a link to some Aussies discussing them.
Lithium Motorcycle battery - Page 2 - ADVrider
Lots of flaff and confusion in that thread... One or two guys know what they're on about, but most appear to be confusing Lithium Ion batteries with Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries.
Lithium Ion - nominal voltage is 3.7v/cell
Pros
* Capable of very high charge and discharge rates - the latest cells can do 90x the rated capacity discharge and easily handle 5x rated capacity charge.
ie. A cell that is rated at 5Ah can discharged at 450A from full down to 20% ~3v/cell. They can charge @ 25A up to ~95% (just below 4.2V/cell)
* Does not suffer from memory effect
* Can be made to fit just about any shape or size
* Extremely high energy density - lightweight for
Cons
* Needs lots of TLC during charge process
* Can swell even catch on fire if discharged too much .. below 2.7v
* Can swell and catch fire if charged beyond 4.2v / cell
* Doesn't not tolerate heat very well. ie Temps above 40*C.
* Physically not very robust cells.
Lithium Iron Phosphate LiFePO4 - Nominal Voltage 3.3v/cell
Pros
*Relatively good discharge and charge ability. ~20C-25C
* Does not suffer from memory effect
* Can be discharged to virtually flat
* Stable over a much larger temp range
* Very physically robust cells. Especially if using A123 cells.
* Relatively high energy density - Lightweight for size
Cons
* Moderate amount of TLC required during charging
* Expensive
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IMO, for Motorcycles and Cars I'd be looking at packs that use A123 cells over anything that uses prismatic cells.
If treated with lots of TLC, ie using an integrated BMC, then it doesn't mater what the underlying cells are. But for packs that are sans BMC, it's difficult to go pass A123 cells, as they can handle ALOT of abuse.
