- The Li-ion battery can operate at temperatures as low as -30°C, retaining more than 80% capacity after 25000 charge/discharge cycles.
- The lithium-titanate-oxide (LTO) technology enables the battery to capture the smallest charging current level.
Swedish organic solar cell maker Epishine and Japanese capacitor manufacturer Nichicon have partnered to develop an integrated power solution for self-powered devices, to eliminate the need for battery replacements, thus decreasing the environmental impacts and maintenance costs.
The companies have collaborated to develop a small lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery (SLB) based on lithium-titanate-oxide (LTO) technology which can capture even the smallest level of charging currents and maximise energy harvesting efficiency at incredibly low levels below 5uA or 0.01C.
“The combination of Epshine’s indoor solar cell and Nichicon’s SLB allows customers to drive the change towards a sustainable future without unnecessary battery disposals. At the same time, the total cost of ownership can be reduced without battery replacements, while end-user convenience increases due to the elimination of manual charging,” said the sales director of Nichicon, Klas Engstroem.
The SLB can operate at temperatures as low as -30°C, retaining more than 80% capacity after 25000 charge/discharge cycles. It offers a rapid charge/discharge specification of 20C and can withstand pulses of 100C. Its sustainable in-circuit product design can support energy harvesting for the entire service life of finished goods, eliminating the need for battery replacements.
Nichicon said that the solution provides lower life cycle assessment (LCA), higher efficiency, and is as simple to integrate as batteries, benefitting joint customers by providing a faster time to market. The company said this removed the need to focus on individual power management components.
Commenting on the partnership, Epishine’s product manager, Hassan Abdalla, said, “Our partnership with Nichicon enables improved cost-efficiency and will simplify the development of groundbreaking self-powered products.”
