FCL9

Secondary or rechargeable batteries are widely used in many applications. The most familiar are starting, lighting, and ignition (SLI) automotive applications; industrial truck materials handling
equipment; and emergency and standby power. Small, secondary batteries are also being used in increasing numbers to power portable devices such as tools, toys, lighting, and photographic, radio, and more significantly, consumer electronic devices (computers, camcorders, cellular phones). More recently, secondary batteries have received renewed interest as a power source for electric and hybrid electric vehicles. Major development programs have been initiated toward improving the performance of existing battery systems and developing new systems to meet the stringent specifications of these new applications.
The applications of secondary batteries fall into two major categories:
1. Those applications in which the secondary battery is used as an energy storage device, being charged by a prime energy source and delivering its energy to the load on demand, when the prime energy source is not available or is inadequate to handle the load requirement. Examples are automotive and aircraft systems, uninterruptible power supplies and standby power sources, and hybrid applications.
2. Those applications in which the secondary battery is discharged (similar in use to a primary battery) and recharged after use, either in the equipment in which it was discharged or separately. Secondary batteries are used in this manner for convenience, for cost savings (as they can be recharged rather than replaced), or for power drains beyond the capability of primary batteries. Most consumer electronics, electric-vehicle, traction, industrial truck, and some stationary battery applications fall in this category.