Fields of application for lithium-ion batteries

Abstract

Due to ever-growing energy requirements, the world’s population is dependent on fossil energy sources, which will result in a shortage of these resources and possible climate changes. It is widely recognized that energy production increasingly needs to be covered by renewable energy sources. This trend has been fueled by the rapid economic growth of the so-called emerging countries and the decision by some industrial nations to phase out nuclear energy production. The increased use of renewable energies, such as solar and wind power, has ultimately resulted in the necessity to store electric power temporarily in order to bridge the gap between the time of producing energy and consuming it. Batteries can provide part of the required capacity, ranging from battery units for homes with several kWh of storage capacity through to large batteries with capacities in the MWh range suitable as grid storage systems. Other systems such as pump storage systems or compressed-air storage systems already exist, but can only be expanded to a limited extent because they require a specific geographical environment. In addition, other electrochemical storage systems are currently being applied or developed in the stationary battery system segment such as high-temperature batteries and redox-flow systems.