What’s the difference between lithium ion Battery and lithium polymer battery?

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Customers often ask me, they are both lithium batteries, why are some called lithium-ion and some called lithium polymer? what is the difference between them? Yes, they are both lithium batteries, but they are not exactly the same. The most important difference is that lithium polymer batteries are safer than lithium-ion batteries. Let’s go into more detail below.

1. What is a Li-ion Battery?

A lithium-ion battery (Li-ion), is a type of rechargeable battery with a liquid electrolyte, that uses lithium ions to move electrical charge between the battery’s cells. A li-ion battery can store more energy per weight and volume than other types of batteries. This, along with its high discharge voltage, makes it suitable for use in portable electronic devices. In terms of how it works, the anode and cathode are made from two different materials: lithium cobalt oxide and graphite respectively. When the cell is charged, Li+ ions flow from the anode to the cathode through the electrolyte while electrons flow in the opposite direction through the external circuit. At discharge, this process reverses with Li+ ions moving back to the anode and electrons moving to the cathode.

The top 5 brands of li-ion batteries in the world, are SONY, SAMSUNG, LG, ATL, and BYD from china.

A li-ion cell drawing

2. What is a li-polymer battery?

A lithium polymer battery (LiPo, Li-po), is a rechargeable battery with a gel polymer electrolyte or solid polymer electrolyte. Compared to li-ion cells, LiPo cells are often more lightweight due to their thinner electrodes and higher energy density.

A li-polymer battery drawing

3. The difference between Li-ion Battery VS Li-polymer battery

1. Li-polymer is safer than Li-ion battery, as they use different electrolyte, li-ion battery with a liquid electrolyte while li-polymer battery with a solid electrolyte.

As the solid li-polymer battery contains a solid electrolyte instead, which ensures no leakage and no explosion problem. Here is a testing photo from lab.

solid li-polymer battery testing

2. A li-polymer battery has a higher energy density.

3. The Li-polymer battery can be custom-made with any size and shape with less tooling charge and lower minimum order quantity.

Normally, the minimum order quantity for li-polymer battery is 5000pcs, which is 10000pcs for li-ion battery. It can be ultra-thin, round, semi-circle, irregular, etc. Here is a round li-polymer battery used for garmin GPS watch.

Wholesales GPS watch replacement battery for Garmin Forerunner 110, 210, 610, 620, replaces 361-00047-00,PD3032, 200mah,3.7V
Wholesales GPS watch replacement battery for Garmin Forerunner 110, 210, 610, 620, replaces 361-00047-00,PD3032, 200mah,3.7V

4. Lithium-ion battery casing is aluminum case, while li-polymer casing is aluminum-plastic film, thus li-polymer battery is lighter.

However, the materials costs of li-polymer battery are still relatively high, and it is used in high-quality digital products, such as ultra-thin laptops, smart phones, laptops, digital cameras, drones and RC cars.

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about Author
Sophia Du

Hi, I’m Sophia Du, your go-to battery expert and writer. With over a decade of experience in the battery industry, I’m here to share valuable insights and solutions through my blog. As a dedicated mom and seasoned Sales Manager, I promise quality, reliability, and timely advice. Welcome to my world of batteries!

about Promax

As a successful lithium-ion battery manufacturing company, we have had the opportunity to gain valuable insights into the industry and the challenges that come with it. In these articles, we will share our journey and experiences in the field of lithium-ion batteries. Get ready, go!

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