Some of the New Products on Show
Benefits of LTO batteries
Toshiba Electronics
Lithium titanium oxide (LTO) battery technology can bring significant advantages in terms of performance and cost in heavy-duty maritime applications where batteries are charged and discharged frequently.
The electrification of commuter ferries, tug boats, water buses and other heavy-duty vessels requires a different way of thinking when selecting the ideal battery technology. Rather than simply squeezing as much capacity as possible into the smallest space at the lowest cost, there are other factors like fast charging, long lifetime and safety that are more important for the total cost of ownership.
LTO is the most powerful and robust lithium-ion technology available. It enables batteries within a vessel to recharge within minutes to cover the energy required for a round trip. Using such frequent opportunity charging, the required capacity of the battery can be minimized, which will reduce the investment cost, increase the efficiency of the vessel and free space for the passenger cabin.
Another advantage is the superior lifetime. LTO cells withstand more than 20,000 cycles under demanding usage profiles including fast charge even at low temperatures. This could obviate the need for replacement and further reduce the cost of operation. Finally, LTO is a very safe technology with no risk of fire or explosion, which is crucially important in marine applications.
Toshiba is a pioneer of LTO technology and will use this year’s show to showcase its line-up of SCiB battery cells and modules. The newly launched, innovative 20Ah-HP rechargeable lithium-ion battery cell delivers high energy and high power at the same time. Compared with Toshiba’s previous 20Ah cell, the internal resistance of the 20Ah-HP cell could be reduced by approximately 40% so that it delivers 1.7x higher input and 1.6x higher output power. The new 20Ah-HP cell also achieves a longer life and maintains almost 100% of its capacity after 8,000 charge/discharge cycles with 5C (@25°C with 10~90% SOC).