Lifecycle Evaluation of Lithium-Ion Batteries Under Fast Charging and Discharging Conditions

By employing electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, we performed an impedance analysis of three commercial Li-ion Panasonic NCR18650B cells in order to investigate the direct effects of their internal impedance on the operating voltage, rate capability, and efficiency and their practical capacity. We aimed to assess their performance, safety, and longevity when distinct fast charge/discharge rates were applied. By maintaining a constant fast discharge rate of 2C, we monitored the degradation speed and the influence of the C-rates on the LIBs by applying distinct charge rates, namely, 1C, 1.5C, and 2C. In order to understand how their performance correlates with usage conditions, an SoH evolution analysis, together with a Q–Q0 total charge and energy consumption examination, was performed, taking into account that cycling monitoring is vital for ensuring their longevity and/or safety. Increasing the Icharge from 1C to 1.5C reduces the battery lifetime by ~50%, while in the case of fast charge/discharge rates of 2C, the lifetime performance decrease is almost ~70% due to a capacity loss that accelerates quickly when the charge rates increase. Moreover, for the latter cell, the last discharge rate can only go up to ~80% SoH, as the battery charge rate can no longer support faster degradation. In agreement with these results, the fluctuations in the Q–Q0 total charge become more pronounced, clearly affecting LIB efficiency. High charge rates add an additional high voltage that increases the batteries’ stress, leading to a shorter lifetime. Energy consumption data follow the same trend, in which efficiency decreases dramatically when losses appear because the internal resistance causes more and more heat to be produced during both fast charging and discharging.