General Lithium Ion Battery Safety
2023-05-15
For many years, the chemistry used in power tool batteries was commonly nickel metal hydride (Ni-MH) and nickel cadmium (Ni-Cd). During the past decade there has been an almost universal conversion to lithium-ion (Li-Ion). There were numerous reasons for the change, such as higher energy density (more energy in a smaller size), lower-toxicity materials, no memory effect, slow rate of self-discharge. The benefits of this newer Li-Ion technology have allowed higher-demand tools and applications to be battery powered, and provide significantly more work-per-charge. This extended capability, combined with the portability of battery tools, has resulted in a dramatic increase in their use.