1. General

1.1 Definition

At this point, it's important to pay attention to the vocabulary. There are in fact two types of electrochemical generators. In the first case, batteries are generally used to refer to irreversible generators, i.e. when one of the electrodes is consumed by a spontaneous oxidation-reduction reaction. In the second case, accumulators are reversible electrochemical generators. To achieve this, the electrochemical system must be able to act as a receiver, charging itself with electrical energy from another generator and returning to its initial state. The term battery does not define the reversible or non-reversible nature of the electrochemical system. Batteries correspond to a series or parallel connection of cells or accumulators.