Batteries for embedded and portable applications Fundamentals

The development of portable, nomadic, industrial and leisure equipment is accompanied by ever-increasing needs for autonomy, requiring high-performance electric batteries. In recent years, battery technologies have undergone numerous innovations, with the emergence of new product families. While nickel-cadmium and nickel-metal hydride technologies have been mastered for many years, lithium-based batteries are more recent and evolve very regularly, leading to an increase in performance and the appearance of new chemical variants. It is therefore necessary to have a clear vision of the challenges and constraints of the various application fields, as well as of the performance of the technologies involved. Each battery family has its own specific characteristics in terms of power and energy. What's more, conditions of use differ from one technology to another. Choosing a battery technology for a given application therefore calls on a wealth of knowledge and information. This article reviews the basics of batteries (definitions, constitution, principle, characterization, modeling, ageing) and sets the context by proposing a mapping of portable and nomadic applications. A second article reviews the three main technologies used in these applications [E 2 141] .

A table of acronyms is provided at the end of the article.