The lithium battery all-rounder

Lithium batteries based on the lithium thionyl chloride (LTC) system – such as those made by Tadiran, a leading manufacturer of non-rechargeable lithium batteries in Europe – represent an energy source custom-tailored to the needs of modern electronic devices. LTC cells are considered a light, safe energy source, providing long-term, reliable performance over a wide range of environmental conditions, and meet, for example, the requirements of CMOS memories, consumption meters and the Internet of Things (IoT).

• High cell voltage: The cell has an open-circuit voltage of 3.67V and an operating voltage of 3.60V. These values are significantly higher than for any other commercially available primary cells.
• Wide temperature range: In general, the battery can be used at temperatures of -55 to +85°C, depending on the series, and some can be used in an extended temperature range up to +130°C.
• High energy density: LTC batteries have the highest energy density of all available primary cells – up to 650Wh/kg and 1,280Wh/dm³.
• Long shelf life, high reliability: The Tadiran lithium battery offers outstanding storage capability and reliability. Tests have shown that ten-year storage at room temperature results in capacity loss of less than 1% per year. When used as a buffer battery, failure rates of less than 200 FIT occurred. (1 FIT = 1 failure in 10⁹ component hours).
• Safety: Over more than 35 years on the market and with several hundred million batteries produced, the design has proven itself to be safe. No accidents have ever been reported. The entire Tadiran product line is monitored constantly by Underwriters Laboratories.
• Hermetically sealed casing: The hermetically sealed casing is crucial for both the shelf life of the cells and the safety of devices in which they are installed. The cover is welded to the jacket. A glass-to-metal seal is used to insulate the positive terminal.

The lithium thionyl chloride battery system offers significant advantages for long-term applications that place high demands on reliability, space requirements and energy density.

The figure below plots the terminal voltage against the removed capacity per unit volume for different lithium battery systems and alkaline manganese cells. The area under each curve corresponds to the energy density of the respective battery system. This shows how long a product will run when using a particular battery system within a given available space.
The curves represent typical best values of commercially available cylindrical cells when discharged at 25°C at the 1,000 hour rate. The area under the curves corresponds to the energy density listed in the legend. The legend also provides a note on the sealing method. (To guarantee long-term operation under varying environmental conditions, a reliable sealing method is essential.)

1.	1.280 Wh/dm3	hermetically welded
2.	430 Wh/dm3	hermetically welded
3.	550 Wh/dm3	crimped elastomer seal
4.	580 Wh/dm3	crimped elastomer seal or hermetically welded
5.	450 Wh/dm3	crimped elastomer seal
6.	280 Wh/dm3	crimped elastomer seal

► Tip: A prerequisite for the successful use of a particular battery is that the cooperation between battery manufacturer, distributor and customer should start as early as possible in the design-in phase. Sometimes it simply makes better economic sense to adapt the design of a circuit to the characteristics of the best appropriate power supply than to have to forego its advantages because it is too late to make such a change

We offers a selection of LTC batteries from manufacturer Tadiran direct from stock. Schukat's sales team also provides advice on all aspects of batteries.