Lithium manganese oxide battery

Guoan Energy Technology (Dongguan) Co., Ltd. R&D Center Editor

I. Basic Characteristics

Lithium manganese oxide batteries use spinel lithium manganese oxide (LiMn₂O₄) as the core cathode material, which has a three-dimensional lithium-ion channel structure and a theoretical specific capacity of 148 mAh/g. Its characteristics include:

High voltage: The single-cell voltage reaches 3.7V, which can reduce the number of series connections in the battery pack and lower the overall cost;

Safety: Only smoke is generated without fire in puncture and compression tests, and the high-temperature stability is superior to ternary lithium batteries;

Environmental protection: Manganese resources are abundant and non-toxic, and the production process has less pollution.

II. Performance Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages: ‌

Low cost: Manganese resources are abundant, the bill of materials (BOM) is lower than that of ternary lithium batteries, and the PACK cost is further optimized due to the reduced number of batteries;

Good rate performance: The three-dimensional structure supports fast charging and discharging, suitable for high-power scenarios (such as power tools, drones);

Low-temperature performance: It can still maintain a high capacity at -20℃.

Disadvantages: ‌

Short cycle life: The cycle life of unmodified lithium manganese oxide batteries is 200-300 times, lower than that of lithium iron phosphate (more than 2000 times);

Low energy density: The typical value is about 123 mAh/g, lower than ternary lithium but higher than some lithium iron phosphate batteries.

III. Application Fields

Electric two-wheeled vehicles/light vehicles: Due to their low cost and high safety, they have become the mainstream choice;

Energy storage devices: Suitable for small and medium-sized energy storage systems, such as household energy storage and communication base stations;

New energy vehicles: Some models are used in hybrid power systems, but due to limitations in cycle performance, they have not become mainstream power batteries.

IV. Directions for Technological Improvement

By surface modification (inhibiting manganese dissolution) and doping (alleviating the Jahn-Teller effect), the cycle life can be improved to more than 2000 times. For example, Xiangtan Electric Chemical plans to introduce intelligent equipment and industrial Internet technology to optimize the production capacity and quality of 30,000 tons of spinel lithium manganese oxide battery materials per year.

Guoan Energy Technology (Dongguan) Co., Ltd. R&D Center Editor