Comparison of commercial battery types

This is a list of commercially available battery types summarizing some of their characteristics for ready comparison.

Common characteristics

Cell chemistry	Also known as	Electrode	Rechargeable	Commercialized	Voltage	Energy density	Specific power	Cost†	Discharge efficiency	Self-discharge rate	Shelf life
Anode	Electrolyte	Cathode	Cutoff	Nominal	100% SOC	by mass	by volume
year	V	V	V	MJ/kg (Wh/kg)	MJ/L (Wh/L)	W/kg	Wh/$ ($/kWh)	%	%/month	years
Lead–acid	SLA VRLA PbAc	Lead	H2SO4	Lead dioxide	Yes	1881	1.75	2.1	2.23–2.32	0.11–0.14 (30–40)	0.22–0.27 (60–75)	180	5.15–13.24 (76–194)	50–92	3–20
Zinc–carbon	Carbon–zinc	Zinc	NH4Cl	Manganese (IV) oxide	No	1898	0.75–0.9	1.5		0.13 (36)	0.33 (92)	10–27	2.35 (425)	50–60	0.32	3–5
Zinc–air	PR	KOH	Oxygen	No	1932	0.9	1.45–1.65		1.59 (442)	6.02 (1,673)	100	2.06 (486)	60–70	0.17	3
Mercury oxide–zinc	Mercuric oxide Mercury cell	NaOH/ KOH	Mercuric oxide	No	1942– 1996	0.9	1.35		0.36–0.44 (99–123)	1.1–1.8 (300–500)					2
Alkaline	Zn/MnO2 LR	KOH	Manganese (IV) oxide	No	1949	0.9	1.5	1.6	0.31–0.68 (85–190)	0.90–1.56 (250–434)	50	7.98 (125)	45–85	0.17	5–10
Rechargeable alkaline	RAM	KOH	Yes	1992	0.9	1.57	1.6						<1
Silver-oxide	SR	NaOH/ KOH	Silver oxide	No	1960	1.2	1.55	1.6	0.47 (130)	1.8 (500)
Nickel–zinc	NiZn	KOH	Nickel oxide hydroxide	Yes	2009	0.9	1.65	1.85						13
Nickel–iron	NiFe	Iron	KOH	Yes	1901	0.75	1.2	1.65	0.07–0.09 (19–25)	0.45 (125)	100	3.13–4.17 (240–319)		20–30	30– 50
Nickel–cadmium	NiCd NiCad	Cadmium	KOH	Yes	c. 1960	0.9–1.05	1.2	1.3	0.11 (30)	0.36 (100)	150–200			10
Nickel–hydrogen	NiH2 Ni-H2	Hydrogen	KOH	Yes	1975	1.0	1.55		0.16–0.23 (45–65)	0.22 (60)	150–200				5
Nickel–metal hydride	NiMH Ni-MH	Metal hydride	KOH	Yes	1990	0.9–1.05	1.2	1.3	0.36 (100)	1.44 (401)	250–1,000	2.5 (399)		30
Low self-discharge nickel–metal hydride	LSD NiMH	Yes	2005	0.9–1.05	1.2	1.3	0.34 (95)	1.27 (353)	250–1,000			0.42
Lithium–manganese dioxide	Lithium Li-MnO2 CR Li-Mn	Lithium		Manganese dioxide	No	1976	2	3		0.54–1.19 (150–330)	1.1–2.6 (300–710)	250–400			1	5–10
Lithium–carbon monofluoride	Li-(CF)x BR		Carbon monofluoride	No	1976	2	3		0.94–2.81 (260–780)	1.58–5.32 (440–1,478)	50–80			0.2–0.3	15
Lithium–iron disulfide	Li-FeS2 FR		Iron disulfide	No	1989	0.9	1.5	1.8	1.07 (297)	2.1 (580)					10-20
Lithium–titanate	Li4Ti5O12 LTO		Lithium manganese oxide or Lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide	Yes	2008	1.6–1.8	2.3–2.4	2.8	0.22–0.40 (60–110)	0.64 (177)	3,000– 5,100	0.37 (2683)	85	2–5	10–20
Lithium cobalt oxide	LiCoO2 ICR LCO Li‑cobalt	Graphite‡	LiPF6/ LiBF4/ LiClO4	Lithium cobalt oxide	Yes	1991	2.5	3.7	4.2	0.70 (195)	2.0 (560)		2.09 (479)
Lithium iron phosphate	LiFePO4 IFR LFP Li‑phosphate		Lithium iron phosphate	Yes	1996	2	3.2	3.65	0.32–0.62 (90–172)	1.43 (396)	200–1,200	7.2 (139)		4.5	20 years
Lithium manganese oxide	LiMn2O4 IMR LMO Li‑manganese		Lithium manganese oxide	Yes	1999	2.5	3.9	4.2	0.54 (150)	1.5 (420)		2.09 (479)
Lithium nickel cobalt aluminium oxides	LiNiCoAlO2 NCA NCR Li‑aluminium		Lithium nickel cobalt aluminium oxide	Yes	1999	3.0	3.6	4.3	0.79 (220)	2.2 (600)
Lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide	LiNixMnyCo1-x-yO2 INR NMC NCM		Lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide	Yes	2008	2.5	3.6	4.2	0.74 (205)	2.1 (580)

^† Cost in inflation-adjusted 2025 USD.

^‡ Typical. See Lithium-ion battery § Negative electrode for alternative electrode materials.

Rechargeable characteristics

Cell chemistry	Charge efficiency	Cycle durability
%	# 100% depth of discharge (DoD) cycles
Lead–acid	50–92	50–100 (500@40%DoD)
Rechargeable alkaline		5–100
Nickel–zinc		100 to 50% capacity
Nickel–iron	65–80	5,000
Nickel–cadmium	70–90	500
Nickel–hydrogen	85	20,000
Nickel–metal hydride	66	300–800
Low self-discharge nickel–metal hydride battery		500–1,500
Lithium cobalt oxide	90	500–1,000
Lithium–titanate	85–90	6,000–30,000 to 90% capacity
Lithium iron phosphate	90	2,500–12,000 to 80% capacity
Lithium manganese oxide	90	300–700

Thermal runaway

Under certain conditions, some battery chemistries are at risk of thermal runaway, leading to cell rupture or combustion. As thermal runaway is determined not only by cell chemistry but also cell size, cell design and charge, only the worst-case values are reflected here.

Cell chemistry	Overcharge	Overheat
Onset	Onset	Runaway	Peak
SOC%	°C	°C	°C/min
Lithium cobalt oxide	150	165	190	440
Lithium iron phosphate	100	220	240	21
Lithium manganese oxide	110	210	240	100+
Lithium nickel cobalt aluminium oxide	125	140	195	260
Lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide	170	160	230	100+

NiCd vs. NiMH vs. Li-ion vs. Li–polymer vs. LTO

Types	Cell Voltage	Self-discharge	Memory	Cycles Times	Temperature	Weight
NiCd	1.2V	20%/month	Yes	Up to 800	-20 °C to 60 °C	Heavy
NiMH	1.2V	30%/month	Mild	Up to 500	-20 °C to 70 °C	Middle
Low Self Discharge NiMH	1.2V	3%/year–1%/month	No	500–2,000	-20 °C to 70 °C	Middle
Li-ion (LCO)	3.6V	5–10%/month	No	500–1,000	-20 °C to 60 °C	Light
LiFePO4 (LFP)	3.2V	2–5%/month	No	2,500–12,000	-20 °C to 60 °C	Light
LiPo (LCO)	3.7V	5–10%/month	No	500–1,000	-20 °C to 60 °C	Lightest
Li–Ti (LTO)	2.4V	2–5%/month	No	6,000–20,000	-40 °C to 75 °C	Light

Comparison of commercial battery types

Common characteristics

Rechargeable characteristics

Thermal runaway

NiCd vs. NiMH vs. Li-ion vs. Li–polymer vs. LTO

See also