LG Chem RESU lithium ion batteries - incredible!

adam88

Explorer
I am surprised no one on here has mentioned the newer LG Chem RESU lithium ion batteries. They have managed to pack an insane amount of energy into a very small package at a relatively reasonable price. These have been in Europe since late last year, and are about to hit the US market soon.
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Basically there's 3 different packs that will be offered. 3.3kWh / 6.5kWh / 9.8kWh. All packs can be daisy chained up to 2, which means you can have a maximum of 19.6kWh from two of the largest ones chained together.
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The weight and measurements of these things are what is most impressive. The 3.3kWh pack, for instance, weighs just 31kg and it has a useable capacity of 2.9kWh. Compare that to, for instance, a Lifeline AGM battery which weighs 71kg but only has a usable capacity of 1.5kWh. Basically, for 31kg you can get the same amount of battery that could weigh 142kg.
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Yes, the price of the lithium ion battery is significantly more, but for weight related savings these LG Chem's are very impressive and they guarantee that Tthey will last for 6,000 cycles or 10 years and maintain 80% of their original charge which seems unbelievable. They weigh far less than any other LifePO4 batteries on the market and the technology they use for the BMS is very advanced. These are super safe batteries not some jerry rigged custom made lithium ion design. The people who will benefit most from these are full-timers who use their rig every single day and pump out tons of cycles. You could do 2 full cycles a day with these and they would still last about 10 years.
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Here is a PDF with the dimensions and specs. http://solarjuice.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/160712_New-RESU-leaflet_Global-small.pdf
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Also there is an interesting youtube video showing installation and an up close look at just how reasonably sized these are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzR4AVJFXBE
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FInally, regarding the price of these... and the best part of all... is they are going to sell for about $600 per kWh. Compare that to current offerings on the market from places like amsolar or Simpliphi which are about $1200 per kWh and these are basically going to cut the price of Lithium ion batteries in half!. If you've been thinking about going lithium ion, keep your eye out for these!
 

pugslyyy

Expedition Vehicle Engineer Guy
It's an exciting time for those of us hungering to make the break from lead-acid. I'm 4 seasons in to my current set of Lifeline GPL-4DA batteries so hopefully have a few more years before I need to go shopping again - but I don't expect to be buying lead-acid next time around.
 

Haf-E

Expedition Leader
I've been involved with these and other lithium batteries for a while now - and the LG Chem battery performance is very impressive. They also make a nice industrial type 19" rack mount version which is 3.3 kWh and can have up to 10 connected in parallel. These ones are not outdoor rated so would need to be protected / in a cabinet. Part number is M4863P3S and they weigh 25 kg / 55 lbs each.

The LG batteries are not LiFePo4 - but I believe they are as safe with all the levels of protection which LG Chem has included. LG uses a NMC chemisty (Nickel Manganese Cobalt) - which is often described as be "inherently" safe:

"Chemistry, performance, cost and safety characteristics vary across LIB types. Handheld electronics mostly use LIBs based on lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2), which offers high energy density, but presents safety risks, especially when damaged. Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4), lithium ion manganese oxide battery (LiMn2O4, Li2MnO3, or LMO) and lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (LiNiMnCoO2 or NMC) offer lower energy density, but longer lives and inherent safety." (Wikipedia)
 

Darwin

Explorer
These look like the future. When the time comes I think I will do two of 9.9kwh batteries for full time use. It says they are compatible with victron inverters.
 

pugslyyy

Expedition Vehicle Engineer Guy
These are 48v. They also make higher voltage ones, but these ones are 48v.

If these are like most others I have seen, it is relatively simple to reconfigure the cells in parallel/series to get the desired voltage - since it is a bunch of lower voltage batteries anyway, and the BMS doesn't seem to mind.
 

dwh

Tail-End Charlie
These look like the future. When the time comes I think I will do two of 9.9kwh batteries for full time use.

$12,000 to get 1300ah usable capacity at 12v. Just need to tow around a nuclear submarine to charge it.


It says they are compatible with victron inverters.

The 48v version is. But it would be compatible with any inverter that has a 48v input.
 
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dwh

Tail-End Charlie
If these are like most others I have seen, it is relatively simple to reconfigure the cells in parallel/series to get the desired voltage - since it is a bunch of lower voltage batteries anyway, and the BMS doesn't seem to mind.

I seriously doubt that will be possible with these.
 

adam88

Explorer
I seriously doubt that will be possible with these.

I agree, I think these batteries are pretty technologically advanced. There would be all sorts of issues with converting them to 12v. Also it would definitely void the warranty.
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Frankly, I prefer 48v. Lots more inverter options available at this voltage. It can be a pain if you are using 12v stuff, but I may just go ahead and use all 110v appliances, pumps and lights and leave inverter on all the time.
 

john61ct

Adventurer
That's fine if you are generating tons of power via solar or as a side effect of other activities.

My attitude is stick to 12V for value in all the infrastructure and devices, 24V at the highest, but only if there's a solid need to do so, buy your bank to fit the use case not v/v.

I've seen all-electric propulsion boats standardize on 48V, but to me that's nuts for just House bank use.

Electric ground vehicles usually that or higher, but most step down for House circuits, often a 12V bank is needed just for contactors startup.

Going all-inverter in a mobile context is very wasteful of both energy and capital investment.

IMO
 
12 volt to 48 volt converter will charge these batteries so charging them from a running vehicle is possible. Amperage around 20-40 amps is possible.
 

adam88

Explorer
12 volt to 48 volt converter will charge these batteries so charging them from a running vehicle is possible. Amperage around 20-40 amps is possible.

Hi there. Thanks for sharing this. What are some examples of good quality 12v to 48v converters that put out high amps like that?
 
Since the battery management system is built into the battery, you only need a 12 volt to 48 volt converter. No special charge is required.
Here is one particular converter that will supply 25 amps. I would recommend a good alternator as this converter draws around 100 amps 12 volts. They are not cheap, but if you are considering these batteries cheap is already out the window.
http://www.secamerica.com/products/12v-48v-high-power-dc-dc-converter-6948/
http://www.chargingchargers.com/sec-america-converters/model-6948.html
 

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