Self-discharge losses in lithium-ion cells

The self-discharge losses in several lithium-ion cell designs have been measured by three different methods. The losses are separated into time-dependent and state-of-charge dependent contributions. For most cycling conditions, the time-dependent self-discharge losses are dominant; however, after several months of stand on open circuit or float charge, the state-of-charge dependent losses become significant. The self-discharge rate has been found to not increase monotonically with state-of-charge, but to drop somewhat at intermediate states of charge. The implications of these measurements for maintaining balanced cell capacities in batteries and establishing optimum storage voltage levels for batteries are discussed.