Dear Editor:
As the world becomes more mobile, and our tools become more portable, our collective frustration with the performance of our portable phones and computers is increasingly blamed on the battery systems. The advances in battery systems have not been anywhere near those made in the electronics they power. Nonetheless, important advances have been made with the introduction of new chemistries such as nickel metal hydride and lithium ion.
It should also be noted that the battery industry and the original equipment manufacturers who use these technologies share a deep concern for the safety of the systems. One of the reasons that battery technology has been slower to evolve than the electronics is the care taken by the industry to ensure that the battery systems will provide long-life, improved performance and safety. The article in the Feb. 3 issue of RCR, might lead a reader to believe otherwise. Your article contained two erroneous statements, the first of which is really troublesome to me. You implied that a lithium ion battery runs “very hot,” hotter than a nickel-type cell. Your analogy was a halogen bulb compared to an incandescent. That is a misleading and invalid comparison in either the charge or discharge mode. Neither NiCad, NiMH nor lithium ion run hot. All will become slightly warm during recharge as they near the end of the charging cycle. Later in the article, you indicate that lithium metal batteries offer improved safety characteristics compared with lithium ion liquid systems. It is important to differentiate between marketing claims and technical fact. At the cell level, these systems are generally considered less stable, but admittedly there have been few cells available to test.
As we, the users, demand more run-time from our computers and more talk-time from our phones, the battery industry has provided more and more energy in the small space allotted to them in the product. Comparing the relative merits of performance or safety of NiCad vs. NiMH vs. Lithium Ion serves little purpose for the average user. It would be far more useful for trade magazines to help us to educate and sensitize consumers to several facts.
First, they are carrying around battery systems which, depending on the application, have as much as double the energy as the same system had only five years ago. Second, energy is energy. It needs to be respected whether it is in the form of a battery, or AC current, or gasoline. When not handled properly, any battery system, including alkaline primaries, can pose potential hazards to the user.
Please help us to educate consumers on how to use and dispose of their battery systems responsibly. Hyperbole has no place in this debate.
Michael P. Dooley, director
Strategy and Business Development
Motorola Inc.
Energy Products Division
