Does a lithium-ion battery have a 'memory effect'?
Does a lithium-ion battery have a 'memory effect'?
No, a lithium-ion battery does not have what is known as a 'memory effect' and therefore does not require full charge and discharge cycles to retain its usable capacity
What is the memory effect?
The memory effect is a phenomenon characteristic of older types of rechargeable batteries, mainly Nickel-Cadmium (NiCd). It consisted of the fact that if a battery was repeatedly recharged before being fully discharged, it began to 'remember' a lower capacity level as a new reference point. In practice, this led to a reduction in the amount of available energy and the need for so-called formatting, i.e. full charge and discharge cycles.
Why are lithium-ion batteries resilient?
Lithium-ion (Li-Ion) batteries and their variants, such as lithium-polymer (Li-Po), operate on a completely different electrochemical principle. Their reactions do not result in the deposition of structures that could 'remember' partial discharges. As a result, they can be recharged at any time without any risk of performance degradation. What's more, fully discharging a lithium cell can even be unfavourable, as deep voltage drops accelerate chemical degradation and can lead to permanent capacity loss. For this reason, built-in BMS circuits prevent both overcharging and over-discharge of the cell.
How best to use lithium batteries?
For Rechargeable Batteries lithium-ion batteries, partial charging, e.g. in the range of 20-80%, is recommended to minimise electrochemical wear. There is no need to fully discharge them or perform calibration cycles, as was the case with older types of batteries.
What about other types of batteries?
Rechargeable Batteries Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH), used e.g. in rechargeable AA batteries, are more resistant to memory effects than NiCd, but also can benefit from the occasional full discharge. Nevertheless, also in their case, frequent recharging is not a major risk - as long as it is done with Chargers adapted to this type of chemistry. In summary, with modern lithium Batteries it is not only possible, but actually worthwhile, to recharge them as and when required. There is no need to wait for them to fully discharge, and avoiding deep cycling increases their longevity. The popular belief in the 'memory effect' in new batteries is no longer justified - it is a remnant of technology that has now gone out of everyday use.
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