Introduction
Determining the best charging current for each battery model needs consideration of multiple factors including both safety and efficiency. Charging the battery or as solid state battery at a high current reduces its lifetime while choosing a current below the recommended value increases the charging time which is not suitable for applications that require constant charge and decharge of the battery. For typical solid state or semi solid state batteries, a charging current of less than 1C is recommended. Please read the rest of this article to learn more about the charging current of solid state batteries.
Table of Contents
General guidlines for charging batteries
The most commonly recommended rate for charging semi solid-state batteries is a value between 0.8C ~ 1C. Letter C here refers to the capacity of the battery. Thus, for example for a 6S 11000mAh battery, a 0.8C charging current (or 1C charging current) means that it should be charged with 0.8 x 11000mA =8899mA (or 1 x 11000mA = 11000mA). Or for a 5200mAh battery (the number of cells doesn’t matter, it is only related to the capacity of the battery) the number would be 0.8 x 5200mA = 4160mA (or 1 x 5200mA = 5200mA). Fast charging is a good option for the times that you are in a hurry and need to charge your battery up to a specific percentage before using it.
A safer solution would be to use a 0.5C charging rate to charge the semi solid-state batteries, which prolongs the battery lifetime but of course, you would have to wait for a longer time for the battery to be fully charged. However, it is important to understand that all these numbers are just recommendations, and it is better to always refer to the datasheet of the battery and use the charging rate recommended by the manufacturer.
You may be able to charge some semi solid-state batteries at a higher current (2C or even higher), which you may know as the fast charging technology that is available in most smartphones. However, you have to make sure that you do not exceed the maximum safe charging current specified by the battery manufacturer.
How to store the battery
The proper way of battery storage for a long time again is dependent on the type of battery. Considering the Lithium Polymer (Li-Po) or Lithium-ion (Li-ion), they should be stored in an appropriate environment with low humidity to avoid corrosion, and ideally in a room temperature between 15 °C~ 25°C. More importantly, the battery shouldn’t be fully charged or fully empty for storage as it will shorten the lifetime of the battery. The recommended storage voltage is the nominal voltage of the battery which is around 40-60% of the fully charged voltage.
