Did You Know? Genuine Lithium-Ion Rechargeable AA and AAA Batteries Exist Now

in #steemstem7 years ago (edited)

Long time followers will know I am a battery fanatic. Everything I own that's electric needs to run on lithium batteries. Now I hear you saying "But doesn't Energizer make lithium AAs?" The answer is: sort of. They make lithium iron disulfide batteries that are non-rechargeable.

Technically, that's a "lithium battery". But it's single use, and not the same chemistry as the rechargeable lithium batteries found in, say, electric cars and bicycles. Rechargeable AAs based on NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride) chemistry have existed for decades, but NiMH is a step down from lithium ion in terms of energy density vs. weight.

It may surprise and delight you to learn, then, that actual rechargeable lithium ion AAs and AAAs do exist, for the devices you own which still use that format of battery. A company named Kentli makes them. You engineers out there might be scratching your heads right about now.

After all, every lithium battery type has a nominal voltage of around 3.7 volts. Alkaline AAs and AAAs are 1.5 volts. NiMH AAs and AAAs are 1.2 volts. How do you make a lithium battery which outputs a voltage in that range, so it can be used in devices designed for alkaline or NiMH batteries?

The answer, impressively, is that they built an itty bitty buck converter into every cell to step down the voltage from 3.7 to 1.5. This of course incurs some waste, which is why the AAs are 2800mah instead of the 3000mah offered by the single use Energizer lithium AAs.

However in my opinion, 200mah is a small price to pay for a cell that's lighter, charges faster and will survive more discharge/charge cycles than a NiMH battery. It's also self evidently a better deal than an Energizer lithium AA or AAA which can be used only once.

I've had these for some time now and the biggest single advantage is how much faster they charge compare to NiMH. The weight difference is noticeable too, but they accept a charge so much quicker that they're considerably more practical to charge from, say, a solar backpack if you're a photographer on the go.

The downsides are the higher cost per cell ($10 each) and the fact that they require their own special chargers. That's right, the chargers you already had for your NiMH AAs and AAAs won't work for these. Whether that's a deal breaker will depend on the person. They do often come together as a bundle though.

I for one depend on electronics enough that having the absolute newest, best, most energy dense means of storing power is important to me. Then again I also kind of go overboard with it. For what it's worth, the benefits really are sweet, and they make a durable, good looking product.


Stay Cozy!

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Interesting. The development of batteries continues to progress and Im sure the cost of these will drop with adoption.

So now I will be able to play my Tamagotchi almost non-stop!?
Finally, that day has come!

@alexbeyman,
I assure you I am not a big fan of batteries, but few weeks back y son got a toy car and it has rechargeable batteries and they are not draining faster as well! Don't know much about it, but it's highlighted to me!

Cheers~

I was of the opinion that AAA batteries where only use and throw sought of things but now reading an article has created really an different setup. Moreover being light quickly chargeable makes them more beneficiary. Technology has changed the world maybe we could now have country's defence mechanism use such an gem.

I couldn’t agree enough that rechargeable are the way to go. The one-time charge batteries may be a thing of the past sooner than we think, trust me. I certainly feel that it won’t be much longer before one-time charged batteries or standard batteries become irrelevant and rechargeable become what’s normal for us to use.

Very informative and agreeable .

Hmmm what did you major on @alexbeyman ? Coz you seem to know so much about batteries and its terminologies. You sound very much like an electrical engineer. I am an electrical engineer and I dint have as much knowledge as you do about batteries .

To think that we now have rechargeable AAA batteries is awesome. They have always been designed to be used once and thrown away but this is really cool now.

Rechargeable AAAs based on NiMH chemistry have existed for decades. What's new about these ones is that they are lithium based.

Useful information... These days we have batteries with MDOD. Maximum depth of discharge characteristics... Lot of engineering going on behind fabrication of these batteries.. The ultimate goal is increase efficiency...

The facts are... Lithium Ion battery units beat Diesel in every department.
Diesel is next to useless compared to EV’s or hydrogen.

Thank you @alexbeyman for this very informative post about rechargable batteries. I, myself am rechargible battery stacker, mostly I have not too long lasting energizers and this info is pretty helpfull.
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If that’s it, the price is pretty high, but I want to definitely look at it since the once’s I have lasts for really short time. Is there any specific reason why these batteries don’t fit standard chargers?

They're lithium, not NiMH and different chemistries need different charging characteristics. These ones also have two contacts at the top. The curved metal bit in the back, at the top, touches the second electrical contact on the battery.

  • You Killed My phones Battery so
    youre Capable of Killing Me...💀
    It's over! Brother .... 😝

I think my phones battery is not genuine lithium ...
I m goin to sue them

I know nothing of batteries I’m afraid but I’ve completely forgotten about the time when I used rechargeable batteries for my diskman quite a few years back heh..

woow its really great and it seems like you have alots of interest in technologies and about the new inventions? <3 :)

+You don't pollute the environment by throwing all these wasted batteries every so...
I wonder...How many charges/recharges do they afford?
I mean they must definitely worth their money but the overall cost with the charger?
Great info there Alex

I had no idea these existed. I have looked for rechargeable lithium batteries before and didnt find any. I wonder if these were just lost in all the listings on Amazon, some of which are deceptive or if the brand name didn't catch my eye.

Thanks for the review!

the falling costs in lithium-ion batteries, solar and wind energy that 2017 saw will continue in 2018 thanks to economies of scale and technological improvements

Well I knew from the recent post of yours that you are ecofriendly, the bicycle you discussed in previous article was an electric one, you are found of things that are rechargeable and save non renewable resources, well all of us should do the same thing and think like you, well good for us their is a genuine product in the market, in this post you shared a valuable info, keep sharing such posts, thankyou

Have you tried using those for your oculus touch controllers? I wonder how long they would last if you played only an hour or so a day?

They last for ages in my Touch controllers and they feel noticeably lighter.

lithium-ion batteries can be smaller or lighter, have a higher voltage and hold a charge much longer than other types of batteries...
thats why i love them...

Nice find, didn't know about these. I vape through 4 18650s a day and I've definitely wondered about AA and AAA rechargeables. I remember they were pretty whack when I was a kid, glad to know these are out there next time I run into a battery drain.

what i love about them is faster recharge capacity
that is really a handy feature
after all i dont have much patience

You know a looooot about batteries

I've been dealing with rechargeable lithium-ion batteries for a few years now as a consequence of being a vaper, since every device either runs on an internal Li-ion cell, and external cell, or a Lipo cell. I first saw rechargeable Li-ion AA and AAA batteries a few months back and I about lost my mind. :D What a time to be alive! With regards to the chargers for the batteries, what in particular is different about those chargers? Is it the amperage for the charging cycle, or something else? I ask because I already have a battery charger for charging Li-ion cells that are 3.7V.

The cells have a rim that serves as the negative contact. The spring at the bottom does nothing. They're designed this way to prevent people from destroying them by putting them in NiMH chargers.

You are indeed a super engineer in battery problems.

Battries AA & AAA lithium ion battries ...

I love these battries which are rechargible....their price is not much & also they they dont die much...

I got 4 panasonic eneloop pro AA Lithium-Ion Rechargeable Batteries for my speedlite.

Nice products,wish I could get one

nice post
i appreciate with you
thanks for sharing a valuable post
keep it on
best of luck

hard to believe with such sophistication, it takes a high skill to do so

Didnt knew till now...i trust u lol

great post sir, very informative.

i didn't know that... thanks for the info...👍

They have a high power to weight ratio, no memory effect, and only a slow loss of charge when not in use.....but guys just pay attention these are really dangerous just be safe....

wow great post

As other have said, the lithium cell voltage makes this difficult. The best thing to do is to build an external battery pack and feed it into the power jack designed to go to a mains wall wart. If your unit does not have one of those, either attach clips to the battery connectors or open up the unit and solder in an external battery jack.

Great work by the engineers I guess.... We need more such renewable and eco-friendly projects to bequeath some form of positive energy to further generations

thank you for the information @ alexbeyman, I so know now. often sharing useful information like this

good information thanks for sharing

Have you ever thought of having a simple bike, without electronics?
If you like riding you can save a lot of trouble with charging and at the same time exercise yourself. Will be very helpful for your health when you spend a lot of time writing beside the laptop.

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You know a lot about batteries. To thik that we now have rechargeable AAA batteries is awesome. They have always been diesigned to be used once and thrown away but this is really cool now.

Genuinely useful info, thank you. Have you used these often enough to approximate how many charge/discharge cycles they support? Would be useful to know what their true lifetime capability is, especially to do a basic cost analysis.

I'm sure there's mfg specs that list that, but I'm interested in a real world data point.

I assure you I am not a big fan of batteries, but few weeks back y son got a toy car and it has rechargeable batteries and they are not draining faster as well! Don't know much about it, but it's highlighted to me!

Cheers~