Using LiFePO4 battery as car battery

Question

I've had an idea of using LiFePO4 battery as replacement for car battery, since 4 of those in series make nominal 12.8V which is very close to standard 12V voltage. And depending on the cell we can parallel some to get required starting current. Since LiFePO4 have much longer life then Lead-Acid, such battery should last much longer.

But there comes few problems:

1. Charging voltage. Since most alternators produce around 14V volts when charging it should be fine with LiFePO4 battery since maximum voltage for those is 3.6V which gives us little headroom up to 14.4V (4*3.6V=14.4V). Individual cell balancing can be done with simple dissipative BMS which dumps excessive charge to resistor. But we don't have possibility to disconnect alternator when battery is charged, so here is first Question: is it OK to hold LiFePO4 battery at floating charge with voltage which is close to maximum battery voltage? Or this will significantly decrease battery life?

2. Charging current. Some LiFePO4 cells can be configured so they can easily take all charge current produced by alternator. (assuming 70A output and 3 parallel 40152S cells) So second question: Can it overload alternator or modern alternators are smart enough to lower voltage to avoid being overloaded?

3. No over discharge protection. Currently have no idea how to deal with it besides not letting it to discharge completely.

Answer 1

LiFePO4 vs LiIon vs LiPo

Some people have commented on LiIon batteries, but the question and this answer are about Lithium Ferro Phosphate batteries / LiFePO4 which I'll abbreviate in places as LFP4. .
These are related to LiIon and LiPo batteries but have major differences.
Notable, compared to LiIon and LiPo (which are chemically similar) LFP4 has an added internal inactive matrix which the Lithium resides within. This reduces mass and volume energy densities but also makes them free from the destructive melt down modes, gives them a much longer cycle life and a much longer calendar life, lower capacity, lower maximum voltage, better temperature operating and storage range (with specific limits on low temperature operation, see below), better overall energy efficiency - and a whole of life cost below to far below that of any lead acid battery.

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LFP4 (LiFePO4) 4 cell batteries do make excellent replacements for normal 12V lead acid car batteries BUT proper attention to care and feeding is necessary to achieve the very long cycle and calendar lifetimes that they are capable of. They are far more "whole of life cost effective" than any lead acid cells in (probably) any application when properly used. Wrongly used they will die an early and expensive death.

As Mike noted (August 2022) low temperature operation must be managed properly. Most liFePO4 batteries allow discharge to -20 degrees C (4 degrees F) but charging usually must not occur below 0 degrees C. This limitation can be overcome (and often is) by providing battery heating to ensure that temperature limits are met.The system controller must have this feature as part of its design if sub zero temperature use is envisaged.

A few manufacturers of cells or batteries suited to this use are

Thundersky, Winston & SinoPoly

There are others which I can list but a search on those names will get you into the right area. All those brands started out as Thundersky but there have been partings of the way and expensive litigation is happening.

Winston make 12V 4 cell batteries with no access to the inter-battery connections. Their 40 Ah and 60 Ah sizes are claimed to be well suited to automotive use. Sinopoly an Winston both make single-cell batteries in sizes from around 10 Ah up to vastly-huge_Ah and you can strap these together as required. I am currently experimenting with 2 x SinoPoly 12v, 40Ah batteries each comprising 4 x 40 Ah single cells with strapping to produce a physical pack. A 12V, 40Ah 4 cell battery is about the size of a Ford-Prefect battery and less weight but is equal to about the largest LA battery you will see in a say 4 cylinder car.

HOWEVER

Claims from various battery makers overlap but are not identical, charging specs are suspect, claimed lifetimes vary depending on sales path and even reputable sellers disagree. The Winston battery charging specs use suspiciously high end point voltages - higher than I'd expect for LFP4 but below LiIon- almost like LiIon being run super conservatively to get good cycle life. Sellers warrant most brands of 10 Ah + cells for 5 years or 10 years use subject to various conditions and probably subject to use of charge/discharge management electronics. Criteria for adequate monitoring varies - many claim that Vmax and Vmin are enough as long as C rates of charge and discharge are within spec BUT a local supplier demands a gas-gauge type monitor and a low voltage cutoff. (I'd consider the gas-gauge excessive and the cutoff or similar protection essential)

Charging voltage. Since most alternators produce around 14V volts when charging it should be fine with LiFePO4 battery since maximum voltage for those is 3.6V which gives us little headroom up to 14.4V (4*3.6V=14.4V).

Some claim Winston LFP4 needs higher V than car systems provide. Others use them regardless.

SinoPoly OK on car voltages BUT ...

Individual cell balancing can be done with simple dissipative BMS which dumps excessive charge to resistor.

Winston cannot balance as sealed but claim superbly balanced cells are OK. Numerous dealers sell them and say this but at least one large site says not to use for deep discharge due to this inability. I'd be very wary. I made a Winston/SinoPoly initial choice for experience gaining based on this and strange Winston voltages and bought SinoPoly - despite apparently superior Winston specs.

But we don't have possibility to disconnect alternator when battery is charged,

Don't start. You must be able to manage your energy source - AND it is easy enough to do - but if your system insists on violating battery specs (which may not be the case) do not use LFP4.

so here is first Question: is it OK to hold LiFePO4 battery at floating charge with voltage which is close to maximum battery voltage? Or this will significantly decrease battery life?

Opinions vary
Small LFP4 - say < 1 Ah to few Ah MUST NOT be floated or they DO die early.
Some LFP4 large battery makers claim floating is OK.
Thou shalt not float LiIon or LiPo or else ... and while LFP4 has differences I'm uneasy.

Charging current. Some LiFePO4 cells can be configured so they can easily take all charge current produced by alternator. (assuming 70A output and 3 parallel 40152S cells) So second question: Can it overload alternator or modern alternators are smart enough to lower voltage to avoid being overloaded?

This deep-ends entirely on battery and alternator specs. Batteries have clear specs. Exceed them not. If your battery has NOT got good specs available do not buy it.

No over discharge protection. Currently have no idea how to deal with it besides not letting it to discharge completely.

This is essential. There are various ways of doing this but a LFP4 large Ah cell MUST NOT be taken under around 2.75V. If you cannot be SURE of that, do not use them. They cost far too much and are too light per volume to make good boat anchors.

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Added August 2022:

References re low temperature operation of LiFePO4 batteries.
As ever, quality of information is unknown.

LiFePO4 temperature range

LiFePO4 Optimal Operation Temperature Range Analysis for EV/HEV

Tips for LiFePO4 Battery Performance During Cold Weather

Web search

Answer 2

For what it's worth, I have floated a 4 cell, 10 Ah LiFePO4 battery pack that I built myself from flat 3.2V cells, for well over two years, with no problems. I've used it as backup power for a Mini-ITX computer with a pico-PSU power supply. Input voltage is 14.5V from a 75W DC power supply, and the battery provides additional oomph during the brief times the computer draws more than that. The battery is still doing just fine.

From what I understand: It's not great to fully charge the battery, and then keep the voltage on it. This is because the thermal dissipation of the internal charge resistance will still wear away at the necessary oxide layer in the battery. LiFePO4 is less sensitive to this than LiPo, and floating at lower voltage levels causes less of this problem than floating at max level.

Answer 3

Do not use LiFePo4 as a car battery, at or around freezing you will start doing permanent damage as the alternator tries to charge it. The solution is Lithium Titanate. you can purchase them from AliExpress (Alibaba is for businesses, they will sell it to you but use AliExpress first). Titanate can handle the extreme temperatures and has an insane charging/ discharging rate. the only problem is they are large cylindrical cells, you will need to relocate them through the firewall and maybe install it under a seat or build a box so someone doesn't kick it. for a 12v system usually 6 cells minimum are required, but since it's for a car you MIGHT need 1 extra cell because the alternator pumps out 14.4 volts I think. You will want to add balance wires to connect your battery bank to the BMS and you will want insanely large cables, I would try 4/0 first WITH a fuse and if it's not enough you will need THHN cable, it starts at 250 MCM and goes up really high. THNN is for buildings. for the proper fuse you will probably need a Class T fuse rated for the wire size. Consult a professional, you are playing with a battery chemistry more powerful than lifepo4 and larger capacity than most lithium ion except for vehicles. Almost forgot Titanate has an extreme cycle life, like 20,000, it will outlast your car. for comparison lifepo4 has an insane life cycle compared to Pb lead at 2,000 to 4,000 cycles. that translates to about 10+ years so do the math for titanate you can see what I mean

-an addendum: for lifepo4 you do not want to keep the cells at 100% SOC state of charge for a long time. it is harmful long term, and while it can survive going down to 0% SOC it is also not advised. it is usually set in the BMS battery management system as 2.5v for the cut-off voltage and if you limit the max capacity to around 90% or less your cells will last much longer. so the lower limit is about 10% SOC or more. again that's for lifepo4, TITANATE probably has another set of rules to follow, firstly follow the manufacturer specifications, it will be listed on the aliexpresss product page. also do a cross reference match for specs of similar cells. I have seen one manufacturer list lifepo4 as being able to tolerate temperatures well below freezing, that is an outlier and wrong, lithium is in it's infancy, even many manufacturers do not know what they are doing and their recommendations change like the weather. use common sense, cross reference specifications and read what other people on forums do, many are knowledgeable! also I suppose this is a "fun fact" (I hate that meme) lithium titanate is used in car sound competitions because it can handle the abuse, they also fill the vehicle walls with concrete for the sub-woofers

2nd addendum: forgot to mention you will burn out your alternator unless you introduce a charge controller of some sort. what you must do is find a device to limit the amps coming from the alternator because lithium batteries will attempt to pull as much current as the alternator can supply until it burns out unless the battery is already nearly full which than the BMS will cut off the charge according to your upper voltage limit that you chose as per the SOC chart for titanate. remember titanate has completely different voltages so do not attempt to use the same lifepo4 voltages examples I gave

Answer 4

Lithium motorbike batteries are readily available at the place down the street. They are in a standard battery case, same terminals, and have all the necessary circuitry inside the box. They are also so light they feel like an empty store display unit. The price is about 50% more than a lead-acid battery.

Given that lithium batteries failure mode often involves a vigorous fire, do you really want to put one of your own design inside an expensive machine right next to a supply of gasoline and several litres of oil?

High-energy battery engineering is best left to the engineers. They have the experience and budget for the necessary experiments, and they don't care if the test unit goes boom - it's almost expected to do so a couple of times.