Glossary / Batteries and storage
Lithium iron phosphate
A type of lithium-ion battery with an iron-phosphate positive electrode. It uses no cobalt or nickel and is cheap, hard to ignite and long-lived.
In 1997 Akshaya Padhi and colleagues in John Goodenough's group reported that lithium iron phosphate, with a crystal structure called olivine, works as a positive electrode[1]. Iron and phosphorus are common, and the crystal is stable against heat and wear.
It stores less energy per kilogram than cobalt-based chemistries but wins on price, safety and cycle life. That has made it dominant in grid storage, where weight matters little, and in lower-cost electric cars.
Related terms
- Lithium-ion batteryA battery that charges and discharges as lithium ions shuttle between the positive and negative electrodes. Used everywhere from phones to electric cars.
- Sodium-ion batteryA battery that shuttles sodium ions instead of lithium. Its materials are plentiful and cheap, and it is entering use in grid storage.
- Round-trip efficiencyThe share of the electricity put into a battery or other store that can later be taken back out.