FLEX, just confirmed that they are indeed preparing to launch their own Lithium-Ion Pouch battery, and I took the opportunity to ask them all of your safety questions, and this time, I got answers. Are you ready? Let’s go!
So a little over a week ago, an image leaked of a retail FLEX package, with graphics featuring a new battery technology. The legitimacy of the leak wasn’t confirmed by FLEX. The next day, we just happen to be at a DeWALT event, where they announced a new battery technology of their own, called PowerStack. DeWALT was using Lithium-ion Pouch cells to make smaller, lighter, and more powerful batteries. Very exciting stuff.
The response from you guys, was… not great. Why? Because most of us think we know a lot about Lithium Ion Polymer cells (which they’re not) and how dangerous they can be. We addressed this with DeWALT in our interview, but their response was essentially “Don’t worry, we got this.” That only lead you guys to ask a ton of questions that never got answered.
That leads me to today. FLEX, just confirmed that they are indeed preparing to launch their own Lithium-Ion Pouch battery, and I took the opportunity to ask them all of your safety questions, and this time, I got answers. Are you ready? Let’s go!
Today FLEX revealed a sort of sneak peek at their new line of batteries, called Stacked Lithium. They’re using Lithium-Ion Pouch (not polymer) technology, and have a proprietary design to stack battery cells in a more efficient way, and at the same time, provide the potential to pull far more power out of them. But like you, I was far more interested in safety, so let’s get straight to it.
First off, these are Lithium-ion Pouch batteries. There is no polymer. The chemical makeup is exactly the same as the Lithium-Ion cylindrical cells we’re all familiar with, but the packaging is different. The cylinders are made of metal, which offers durability, and reliability. The pouches are soft, which only means there needs to be something else to stabilize them. This little battery from one of my rc cars, isn’t protected at all. It’s squishy. That’s why I need to keep it in a fireproof bag when I’m not using them. But FLEX has addressed this by filling the empty space in the battery with a substance that not only helps dissipate heat but also protects the cells just like a metal cylinder would.
Next question, will they explode and kill us all? The answer isn’t as complex as I thought. Pouch cells naturally swell when they’re used. I didn’t know that. The max they swell up is around 8%, so FLEX left space for each cell that allows for 10%. That space also acts as a cushion for the cells, keeping them safer when dropped or thrown. (you guys should really stop throwing your tools)
But what about when a cell fails, don’t they expand a lot? Yup. And that’s why cheap batteries explode. The gas expands, there’s no place for it to go, so it explodes. But the reason this happens is because cheap batteries don’t have sophisticated BMS or battery management systems. FLEX Does. The system can tell if any of the cells are failing and expanding, and before it can get to a dangerous level, it simply shuts down the cell.
The FLEX team has absolute confidence in these cells, which lead me to ask for the bigger safety picture. What makes these safe? They told me that all batteries can be dangerous or not. To make safe batteries, you need a quality cell, and a quality system to monitor and manage it. Wrap all of that in a proper enclosure, and you can trust it will be safe.
So FLEX designed the enclosure and the BMS. That only leaves the quality of the cell. I asked them who made their cell. I honestly didn’t expect them to tell me. But they did. As it Turns out it’s the same battery manufacturer that makes the pouch cells in devices like this one..
Right or wrong, I’ve fallen asleep on this thing. It’s in my pocket all day, right next to things I really care about. And why do I trust this battery and not this one? Well, because unlike a no-name hoverboard maker who can just change their name, this company has something to lose.
They rely heavily on building a battery with quality cells, and a quality system to monitor and manage it. The same goes for FLEX.
This year, these guys jumped headfirst into the championship ring, and immediately started poking the chest of the biggest names in our industry. They not only have something to lose, but something to prove. So they got their cells, from the best in the industry. Simple as that.
As for the rest of the benefits of these new batteries, well they’re not sharing those details yet. But from what we can gather from the little info they sent out, their focus isn’t on compactness like it was at the DeWALT event, but more on Power and Performance characteristics. And as soon as we know the rest of their plans, we’ll tell you here first. If you still have a question about the new FLEX Stacked Lithium batteries, leave them in the comments below.
That’s it for now. Be sure to come back at 5pm today, for our Power Tool Week In Review. I’ll see you then.
