Lithium Storage Battery Shelf Life ?
Lead acid batteries eat themselves alive. It's what acid does for a living. I've not read anything about lithium storage batteries decomposition. When stored in an optimum maintenance fashion.
Forum Discussion
Almot wrote:MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
I've not read anything about lithium storage batteries decomposition. When stored in an optimum maintenance fashion.
5-6 years if stored with 50-70% charge, room temps.
Then they go to Li battery heaven (= dumpster). Or you keep using it with diminished capacity until it really croaks.
I understand that auto lithium batteries are finished when they reach 70% or so of max capacity. Then they can possibly be reused as home or grid storage modules for a while, or perhaps as RV batteries?
But eventually they are recycled or trashed. As fresh mined Lithium from S. America is cheap, it's usually not economical to recover that. There may be other metals though. The variable chemistry of Li batteries is an issue in recycling. If there are no other economically recyclable metals, the battery is shredded and landfilled.
Apparently if there is any chance of a charge left in the battery, they first freeze it in liquid nitrogen, then bust it apart.
