Do rechargeable lithium-ion batteries exist in standard sizes like AA, AAA, C or D?
Yes, they are finally available. However, only a few Chinese companies manufacture them. These batteries are AA and AAA rechargeable lithium polymer batteries that output 1.5 volts.
- Tenavolt Lithium-Ion AA Batteries (2775 mWh)
- Deeleepow Lithium-Ion AA Batteries (3400mWh)
Lithium-ion batteries normally operate at 3.7V per cell. The circuitry inside the cells reduces the voltage to 1.5 volts. The batteries have a capacity of 3400mWh, which matches Eneloop Pro (NiMH batteries with the highest capacity). Additionally, lithium-ion cells are lighter than NiMH cells.
Other Lithium-Ion Rechargeables
There are also some lithium-ion rechargeable batteries made for high-performance flashlights and cameras in these sizes: 18650 and CR123.
A single 18650 battery can replace two CR123A batteries, although at a lower voltage (but much higher amperage). However, the 18650 is a wider cell and will not fit into a flashlight designed strictly for the narrower CR123As. Most modern tactical LED lights are designed to use a single 18650 or two CR123As, but it’s best to check before buying. See our article on The Best 18650 Batteries for more information.
There are also numerous other types of lithium-ion batteries made for specific laptops and other electronic gadgets. There is currently no standard size for these lithium-ion cells.
Electric cars green ???
What about the power needed to produce the electricity to charge them….
Well my Tesla runs on renewable power.
You must be an oil company shill, you need to begone.
Can I use Lithium-Ion Batteries when they plug into chargers? Does it damage the batteries?
My Nest smart smoke detector only works with disposable 1.5v aa lithium batteries. If i use 1.2 Nimh it gives low battery warning. I am not keen on 1.5v lithium rechargeable either. Does anyone know of a 1.5v rechargeable aa Nimh?
Most of the above missed the point that these AAs are current limited maybe 2A so will not work in some items ie my flashgun..just flickers
WARNING
In this article you say that the Kentli Li-ion matches the Keneloop Pro in power output. I think you have been fooled by the deliberately misleading labelling that all the new li-ion battery manufacturers are using.
If you look closely you will see that they all state power capacity in mWh (Miliwatt hours) and not, as is traditional and used in the case of all primary batteries and rechargeables like NiMH & NiCd, in mAh (milliamp hours).
So to compare these with other batteries, you need to divide by the voltage, which for li-ion is 1.5, giving a capacity in mAh of 1.87 mAh (2800/1.5) – the Eneloop Pros are rated at 2.55 mAh so this is a massive difference in battery life…
Arguably it makes more sense to describe battery capacity in mWh than mAh, as now we have so many different battery technologies all with different voltages so similar mAh values may not be equivalent, I can’t help but think this is a deliberate ploy by battery companies to mislead – and it works! You are so not the only person to be caught by this…
WARNING!!!!! YOUR MATH IS WRONG IN SO MANY WAYS!!!! mAh mean shit, Wh is all that matters. so lets do the math.
i have 3.2Wh li-ion 1.5V batteries, if you turn that in to mAh its 2133 mAh at 1.5V BUT at 1.2V where NiMh batteries capacity is rated it would be 2666mAh, so these batteries have the same capacity as 2666mAh NiMH batteries. not to mention you get continuous 1.5V instead of garbage 1.2V where you wont get the rated capacity in most electronics, you get fully charged batteries in less then two hours, you can get them in up to 3.5Wh capacity and so on.
I get what your saying but you’re getting 1.5V so of course it’s not going to last as long as a 1.2V battery. Your device will be going faster or shining brighter and using more power chugging down more mA. If you set your device to go at the same speed or brightness as it was performing on 1.2V then it will longer as the 1.5 cells have more mW to give.
if you use a 1.2 v output when you should be using a 1.5v output you end up with poor performance. Lets say you use in a game camera you are losing .3 v per battery times that by 4 or 8 batteries and its like having one completely dead battery
The way they discard of Li-po batteries is going to come back to bite us in the butt some day. Then there is the whole convo about electric cars being “green”. Have you ever seen a lithium mine?
This is a false comparison. If you really want to compare all the way back to mining, make sure you include how oil, zinc and manganese are extracted from the environment, processed and made into their final products.
While it is true that these batteries must be discarded at the end of their life, by that point you would have used 500-1500 regular AA batteries, depending on who you want to believe about lifetime of Li Ion batteries. So which is actually more harmful?
As for electric cars not being green, we’re talking about carbon into the atmosphere, which they don’t do.
“carbon into the atmosphere” Recharging that electric car does.
They are increasingly popular for high-drain devices such as high output LED flashlights (of which I have a few), and they are often THE cells that are being mentioned in things like laptop batteries and wireless rechargable hand tools.
Now you got attitude man,
true but from the perspective of making a AA/AAA does it really matter? You want the most capacity you can get in the form factor. As long as its safe and reliable would it matter?
Yes they do I know a buddy who uses them for his appliance repair tools : https://www.appliancerepairshamilton.com/ Ask him yourself.
It would appear that NIMH rechargeable cells are better than these for most applications, given their higher capacity and lower cost. The most important difference is that these cells output 1.5 volts, like conventional AA cells, while nickel-metal-hydride cells provide only 1.2 volts. If you have a device that doesn’t perform well with the lower 1.2 volt supply, then this rechargeable Lithium-Ion AA technology may be a welcome replacement for disposable conventional 1.5 volt cells.
There is a 14500 rechargeable Li-ion cell that matches the physical dimensions of a AA cell, but it outputs 3.7 volts which may be too high for some devices. Some small flashlights are designed to use AA cells at 1.2-volts (NIMH) to 3.7-volts (14500 Li-ion).
This article states that a single 18650 battery can replace two CR123A batteries, but that is not exactly correct. The 18650 has a larger diameter than the CR123A, but the article fails to point out that you can get a 16650 rechargeable Li-ion battery that will fit the same enclosure as two (disposable) CR123A batteries stacked end-to-end. An important issue is the difference in output voltage. Two CR123A batteries in series will supply a total of 6 volts, while a single 16650 (or an 18650) will supply only 3.7 volts. In some flashlights, for example, the light output will be brighter with the 6-volt supply of the two CR123A cells. The downside is that you will be throwing away $3 to $4 worth of disposable batteries each time they run down.
Other folks have pointed out the incorrect claim that this cells capacity of 2800mWh matches the Eneloop Pro, which lists a capacity of up to 2550mAh. What many shoppers don’t realize is that “mWh” (milliwatt hours) and “mAh” (milliamp hours) are not measuring the same thing. 1000 milliwatt-hours, at 1.5-volts, equals only about 667 milliamp-hours. Since almost all battery sellers state battery capacity in “mAh”, milliamp-hours, one might question the integrity of a seller that uses a different unit measurement to make their battery capacity sound better.
Most excellent summery! Methinks I’ll stick with rebranded Eneloop, nickle style. Most my torches use 14500 or 18650 anyway. I don’t think my AAA lights would benefit from li-ion anyway.
There are AAA flashlights that can greatly benefit from a lithium ion 10440 ((AAA Sized,..*maybe a smudgin longer))…,but is about 3 times brighter ! There are YouTube videos on… e.g. Streamlight’s Microstream (& their Pro Tac 1AAA ?),… The 10440 (300 to 1,100 MaH) Battery Turns These very pocket friendly EDC lights into Legitimate close up Self Defense Tools (to be Prudently used with other actions or equipment) **ASP’s Palm (or Key..)Defender (pepper spray), are very complimentary & compatible with the Microstream etc ,..(the same : size; shape; tail activation & beam-spray cone shape @ close distances; etc etc….
But the reverse would happen if they called them “1870mah” cells, then people would think “my nickel battery is 2550, which is more than 1870!”
2.5Ah x 1.2V = 3Wh
1.9Ah x 1.5V = 2.8Wh
Pretty close. Particularly if your device needs 1.2V or more: when the 2.5Ah battery down to its last Ah you don’t get 1.2V for most of that hour.
Wh/mWh are standard for lithium batteries, and can be used to compare capacity of batteries with different voltages, whereas mAh is meaningless without also knowing the voltage.
wrong, Wh is what is important, Ah are basically meaningless unless put in to perspective in regards to at what voltage that is measured at.
Pretty sure you missed the point of these “new” cells. They are AA sized cells with 1.5V output. They are not like 18650’s that output 3.7V. They contain circuitry to reduce voltage to 1.5, and hopefully disallow charging in normal NiCad and NIMH AA chargers.
These batteries are deceptively labeled by the manufacturer, who has listed the capacity in mWh rather than mAh. When you convert 2770mWh into mAh for a 1.5V output, you get a much less impressive figure of 1847mAh, which is significantly lower than the Eneloop Pro’s rating of 2500mAh. I honestly don’t see the point of these, unless you have some edge case requiring AA form factor AND rechargeable cells BUT lower weight than NiMH, AND unable to use NiCd (which are FAR lighter – competitive with traditional consumable lithium).
I could see the point of these in my gaming headset, which uses two AAA batteries in parallel.
I get excellent play time from 1.5v alkaline batteries because the headset cuts out when the voltage drops to about 1.1v, which can be after about 12-15 hours of use.
NiMH start at 1.2v, so they drop to the 1.1 level in only a few hours.
Right now, I’m trying to make a custom enclosed that holds AA NiMH batteries in place of the battery door, but snaps onto the outside, to get better play time.
Not so fast. Not sure what protection is built-in to these cells, but it better be pretty dang robust. Without proper protection circuitry, if you(or your kids…) accidentally throw these in the charger you use for your NiMH AAs they will explode violently. Also, there is probably step-down circuitry in the cells that convert them to the nominal 1.5v. This circuitry will likely incur some losses which usually mean additional heat is generated, which likely also means that the max output amperage is limited as well. The charging procedure for Lithium cells is much different and much more unforgiving than NiMH. So, to pack that ciruitry into the cells means less storage media inside and thus less capacity. Quality NiMH cell already provide much more run time than one time use cells. And more than these as well. The cost benefit just isn’t worth the risk IMHO. Of course these brands that I’ve never heard of may be on the cutting edge of technology and have already solved these issues, but I’m not betting on it. My bs detector is maxed out on these. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.
I don’t think there’s anything deceptive (other than a couple of people being careless). All 3 (Deleepow, Kentli, Tenavolt) makers of this type of battery use mWh. These batteries being lithium output stable 1.5V during discharge so it’s understandable for them to do so. With that, you can calculate the run time easily.
wrong, Wh is what is important, Ah are basically meaningless unless put in to perspective in regards to at what voltage that is measured at.
Those would be handy for my techs. We burn though AA batteries.
As an update there are several brands of Li-ion rechargeable batteries on Amazon now. And some of them are advertising 3200mWh or 2133mAh. Sadly I would have to buy a new charger as well, and I am not planning on abandoning my $50 charger and my Powerex 2700mAh batteries without some new breakthrough in Li-ion or Li-Po batteries.
what new charger, most of these Li-Ion 1.5V batteries charge with either type-c on micro usb plugged directly in to the battery
While Li-ion generally packs more energy in the same space as other battery technologies there are reasons why it doesn’t do well in AA/AAA applications. Li-ion cell voltage runs normally at around 3.7 V where all alkaline based batteries (what AA is built around) run at 1.5 volts. In addition Li-ion is inherently dangerous without circuitry to protect it. As such, making a AA sized li-ion battery requires sacrificing space in the battery for electronics to change the voltage and keep the battery safe. This reduction in space for electrochemical storage is why they do not really outperform Ni-MH right now. When you get to bigger sizes that can run at their nominal 3.7 volts, like an 18650, the improvement over other battery types is significant. As an example, trying to replace the cells in a laptop with the equivalent in NiMH would not come close to fitting in the same space.
Due to the safety of Li-ion and the fact that these batteries have not undergone strict US testing/manufacturing standards it is recommended to stay with rechargeable NiMH in the time being. Hopefully, one day, Li-ion will improve enough that a AA type battery will exist that offers major improvement over NiMH. Right now their is little benefit (slightly better power, faster charge, and number of charge cycles) to outweigh the risks with li-ion cells of unknown quality. If it was that good you’d see the major US battery companies selling it, and they don’t so a good indicator something is off.
Why don’t they make a rechargeable lithium battery in common sizes like AA and AAA?
Why do batteries come in different sizes when many have the same voltage (AA vs AAA)?
There’s what you might call the “native voltage” of the chemistry of a battery, called the nominal voltage. For NiMH batteries, this is 1.2V. For alkaline cells, it’s 1.5V. For the type of lithium ion chemistry used in those batteries, the nominal voltage is 3.7V. So, you throw the chemicals in a jar with your 2 electrodes, and that’s the voltage you’ll get. You can’t get lower. Hence the need for the circuitry to bring it down to 1.5V
I am loving the tenavolts, i have also tried the altizure which are 1.9v (could damage things) but have very low capacity, and I am going to try out deleepow next. The tenevolts power underccabinet lightning and run them for 7 days at a time (5-8 hours each day of use). Each light uses three tenevolts.
mWh and mAh are different.
Eneloop Pros are rated 2550mAh, Tenavolts are rated 2800mWh (they are equivalent to 1867mAh at 1.5V).
good catch, a bit of trickery there. However tenavolts webpage indicates only 750mAh. I don’t understand the disparity. Your calculation, dividing Wah/V should be correct.
Amp hours (mAh) X voltage = mWh
volts = Amps * Resistance. Watts = Amps * Amps * resistance. m = milli, a prefix to indicate the small amount (without the m 2800mA = 2.8A)
I assume this involves the conversion from ~3.7 volts to 1.5. 750 X 3.7=2775, but power is 1.5 X amps permitted through converter. So 2800mWH/750mAh=3.7
I would assume there was some Voltage conversion loss as well. There are some things about these numbers that are a bit concerning….
I feel I must echo what only one person has correctly pointed out in response so far (but for some reason has not been up voted as due for his correctness), for those of you who are not completely “in the know” – There indeed ARE Li-ion batteries that are the same form factor (size/shape) as traditional AA and AAA batteries.
They are increasingly popular for high-drain devices such as high output LED flashlights (of which I have a few), and they are often THE cells that are being mentioned in things like laptop batteries and wireless rechargable hand tools.
Crack open a 6-cell laptop battery and you’ll be likely to find six of the very same Li-Ion AA sized cells you can buy on eBay/Amazon shipped from China.
They are often welded together in groupings that increase the total voltage to that needed by the 12 volt laptop requires.
that is wrong, 18650 LiIon cells are bigger than AA batteries. As the name implies they have a diameter of 18mm and are 65mm long. AA batteroes are of the size 14500, 14mm diameter and 50mm length
Laptops use 18650s cells in their packs, definitely not AA sized 14500s!
I’ve always used EverReady batteries. Not sure if they’re Lithium Ion batteries though. And they’re not rechargeable. Hoping to make the shift soon. How much does this cost?
I am also search such batteries, my current candidates is the one in below link, I will check above recommendations.
14500 3.7V Li-ion 800mAH
https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a210c.1.0.0.79791debICiRmE&id=600226683223
How do I get my hands on your lithium AA battery’s and charger, and how much will it cost me,
Sorry, here is the updated link to those batteries.
Lithium Ion and Lithium Polymer are NOT the same.
true but from the perspective of making a AA/AAA does it really matter? You want the most capacity you can get in the form factor. As long as its safe and reliable would it matter?
Lithium polymer bateries are are lithium ion as well and are often times marked as lithium ion
I love the color of those batteries!
I’ve used the Eneloops before and really liked them. They worked great and kept their charge for a long time. I’ll have to try the Eneloop Pro!
Really Chris? because I used the same too and I didn’t regret it I really like it. I’m planning to upgrade to pro soon.
I purchased two solar powered garden lights. they have AA 3.7V 600 mAh Li-ion batteries with a 14500 number. Do you know if there is a replacement battery for these, since they are very difficult to find? I am about to give up on finding any.
You can find 14500 Li-ion cells at andrew-amanda.com, batteryjunction.com and amazon.com. Or do a Google search to find suppliers. Li-ion cells are 3.7V. LiFePO4 are 3.2V.
Are all rechargeable batteries lithium ion?
Most are Nickel Metal Hydride.
I’m surprised nobody has done a double-AA L-iIon or Li-Po battery – same form factor as two AAs next to each other without the extra voltage circuitry (assuming things can handle a bit extra voltage). Depending on how the “connection” is done, there could be room for quite a bit of extra power.
they do exist for specific applications, its a safety and packing issue. look at the xbox controller li-ion rechargeable packs, same idea. There are third party NiMH that outperform them.