The electric vehicle has developed for more than 20 years and generally uses lead-acid batteries, while in recent years a rising star, the lithium battery, has appeared in the electric vehicle battery market. So what are the pros and cons of lead-acid batteries and lithium batteries?

Advantages of lead-acid batteries:

1. Good safety. Lead-acid batteries are easy to live with. They can take knocks, and a little repair lets them keep working.

2. Low price. The price of a lead-acid battery is about one third of a lithium battery, which shows how cheap it is.

3. Recyclable and repairable. Lead-acid batteries are highly recyclable. When worn out, they can be traded in at an electric vehicle shop for a new set by paying the difference, minimizing the loss, a real benefit for users. The lead in the batteries can also be recovered and reused, reducing environmental pollution.

Disadvantages of lead-acid batteries:

Heavy weight, limited capacity and shorter life. A lead-acid battery generally lasts within 400 deep charge-discharge cycles, with a service life of about two years.

Advantages of lithium batteries:

1. Light weight and small size. The volume of a lithium battery is 2/3 of a lead-acid battery and the weight about 1/3. At the same volume a lithium battery has higher capacity, and the lower weight makes the vehicle lighter and increases the range by roughly 10%.

2. Long life. The average life of a lithium battery is about 4 years, about 1.5 times that of a lead-acid battery. It exceeds 500 charge-discharge cycles, has no memory effect and strong vibration resistance.

3： Resists overcharging, good charge-discharge performance. At normal temperature a lithium battery can be charged continuously for 48 hours without swelling, leaking or bursting, keeping more than 95% of its capacity. With a dedicated charger it can also be charged and discharged quickly.

Disadvantages of lithium batteries:

Lithium batteries cost more to make. The equipment is expensive and labor accounts for about 40% of the production cost, so the price is about three times that of a lead-acid battery. The high price does not bring proportionally high value, giving people a fancy but impractical feeling. Besides, lithium batteries are not recyclable: when worn out you can only throw them away or bury them somewhere, and thousands of years later our descendants may dig them out as antiques. The most serious issue is the risk of fire and explosion, especially when consumers are cheated by unscrupulous merchants into buying inferior lithium batteries, and in an electric vehicle with imperfect sealing, dampness and poor contact may trigger the hidden safety danger.

Through the introduction above, we believe you have some idea of which is better, lead-acid or lithium. Choose the battery that suits your own needs.