High Temperature Batteries

Problems with LiPo Batteries and High Temperatures

• The maximum recommended/tested temperature for LiPo batteries is 60C [1].

• When LiPo batteries operate at high temperatures, they are at risk of severe performance degradation, and produce gasses such as O2, CO2 and CO. This is because of the interactions at the electrolyte-electrode interface [1].

This has caused significant distress to our team, as we compete in New Mexico which routinely experiences extremely high temperatures.

Alternatives

Batteries better suited to high temperatures will have different internal chemistries that have high thermal stability. This is not a new problem and more suitable batteries do exist. A few have been listed here. More information will be added if we find reliable suppliers for these batteries and can try to work with them ourselves.

References

[1] D. R. Wright, N. Garcia-Araez, and J. R. Owen, “Review on high temperature secondary Li-ion batteries,” Energy Procedia, vol. 151, pp. 174–181, Oct. 2018, doi: 10.1016/j.egypro.2018.09.044.

[2] “Lithium Secondary - Rechargeable - Cells.” https://web.archive.org/web/20110714122247/http://www.mpoweruk.com/lithiumS.htm (accessed Jul. 23, 2023).

[3] “Lithium Thionyl Chloride Battery Technology | EaglePicher.” https://www.eaglepicher.com/technology/battery-chemistries/lithium-thionyl-chloride-battery/ (accessed Jul. 23, 2023).

[4] “High Temperature,” Tadiran Batteries. https://tadiranbat.com/applications/high-temperature/ (accessed Jul. 23, 2023).