nickel-iron

Encell has shipped the first of its nickel-iron (NiFe) batteries, which have greater durability than lead-acid over deep discharge cycling to make them a contender for micro-grid applications.

The 12V, 160Ah Atlas 160 NiFe batteries are rechargeable and have a charging life of 20 years.

The batteries are intended as an alternative to VRLA in the grid installations that require standby power that can withstand frequent charging cycles including deep-discharging.

Often the life of VRLAs is greatly reduced by such a cycling pattern: at 20% discharge, typically VRLAs last over 5 000 cycles but at 80% discharge this is reduced to just over 500 cycles. Comparably, the Encell Atlas 160 NiFe cycle life under similar deep-discharge operating environments approaches 9 000 cycles. The nickel-iron batteries operate up to 100^oC and can be stored up to 60^oC.