A Novel Jump-start System Based on Reconditioned Li-polymer Batteries

Abstract

This paper introduces a method of reconditioning lithium-polymer batteries which are no longer performing as expected. The reconditioning process consists of consecutive charging/discharging steps at controlled currents and is followed by an evaluation procedure, in order to determine the actual performances of the reconditioned batteries. For the evaluation of the characteristics of the Li-polymer batteries, one has measured the charging capacity, the discharging capacity and the internal resistance. However, after the reconditioning stage, one must look for a new application for these batteries, as the reconditioned batteries are seldom behaving as the new ones to be used for the same initial designated application. We manufactured and tested a cold jump-start system, particularly useful in the case of cars flat batteries or cars batteries starting failure. The advantages of this system consist in their reduced mass and volume and a very powerful starting current, comparable to that of high capacity lead acid batteries, the system being able to act as multiple starting aids.

Overcoming Practical Barriers in Reconditioning Li-Polymer Batteries

“…Recycling of spent batteries is an appealing alternative and various attempts have been made in this purpose; however, these methods focus on the recovery of useful elements and less on the restoration of the battery's capacity [7,8]. Our previous work on lithiumpolymer batteries shows a reconditioning method employing consecutive controlled charging/ discharging steps that enable the restoration of some of the initial technical parameters of the battery [9].…”