Shift Magazine - November 25, 2019 - 7

TAKING SHAPE
The 3 main types of lithium ion battery cells
CYLINDRICAL

PRISMATIC

Cylindrical cells are a popular and less
expensive option for electric vehicles,
largely because their construction was
born out of the consumer battery space,
says Joe LoGrasso, a director of the U.S.
Advanced Battery Consortium and senior
manager of energy storage & high voltage
systems at FCA US. "It probably offers the
greatest ease in terms of capability," says
LoGrasso. "The negative is that it requires
a lot more interconnects and complexity in
terms of designs, but I think it can be made
to be manufactured competitively as well."

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Pouch cells are fundamentally prismatic
cells with flexible polymer coated aluminum packaging instead of a metal can,
NHTSA says. The individual layers are
stacked or folded, packed under vacuum
and held together by the pouch. Most
of the pouch designs use a gel electrolyte technology, while typical lithium ion
cells used by manufacturers use liquid. A
pouch's gel electrolyte has higher resistance but doesn't have the risk of spilling
that a liquid electrolyte does.

Photo: Bloomberg

Photo: Bloomberg

LOOP

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POUCH

Prismatic cells, as described by NHTSA,
are constructed in a wound or flat plate
configuration. NHTSA writes: "Wound
prismatic cells are generally constructed
by wrapping the layers around a bobbin
or mandrel, similar to that of a cylindrical
cell. In a flat plate cell, discrete layers
are stacked side by side and pressed
together or folded. Prismatic cells that
are designed for automotive applications
can have much larger capacities than
cylindrical cells."

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november 2019 * shift

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Shift Magazine - November 25, 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Shift Magazine - November 25, 2019
