There are three main varieties of lithium-ion batteries, namely prismatic, cylindrical, and pouch types. The first two battery types seem to be forging ahead of pouch ones. Laserax believes that prismatic batteries may eventually become the market leader. That’s possible, but first we need to understand how prismatic cells and cylindrical cells work.
The Main Difference Between Prismatic and Cylindrical
Prismatic and cylindrical batteries vary in their fundamental design, perhaps for historic reasons. Cylindrical cells, being tube-shaped, do not stack well in big battery sets owing to wasted space.
Prismatic cells, on the other hand, follow the tried-and-trusted practice of lead-acid batteries. In other words, they have rectangular, rigid casings that fit tightly against each other.
- Some prismatic cells stack their cathodes, anodes, and separators side-by-side.
- Others roll their cathodes, anodes, and separators together, and then flatten them.
If you were wondering why there are these two different lithium-ion battery types, then here’s your answer. Stacked prismatic cells release more energy at once, offering better performance. Whereas flattened prismatic cells contain more energy, and last longer.
Prismatic cells are therefore well-suited for mass applications in electric vehicles, and energy-intensive storage systems. But their bulky design does not suit smaller applications, and this is where cylindrical cells come in to play.
When Cylindrical Cells Are Better Than Prismatic
The contents of cylindrical cells are encased inside short tubes with flat ends. We can stack them together, although not entirely space-efficiently. However, their tubular nature also adds strength, meaning they are less likely to swell than prismatic batteries.
This engineering advantage also makes cylindrical batteries ideal for space exploration. This is because they are less likely to deform under different atmospheric conditions. Our take is that prismatic cells will have to become smaller, if they want to rule the entire roost.
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