Recommended Li-Ion/Li-Polymer Battery Supplier or Online Marketplace?

[MixedSignalSystems]

Hi guys,

Does anybody have a Li-Ion/Li-Po battery suppliers that they'd be happy to recommend? Alternatively, is there one of the many online battery specific online marketplaces that is worth spending some time on?

I'm looking to source a Li-Ion or Li-Polymer battery pack for a commercial project that I'm currently working on for a client.

The product is a portable device with a Bluetooth interface. I'd like a 3.7V Li-Ion or Li-Polymer battery pack with a minimum capacity of between 150 and 200 mAh.

There are plenty suppliers on sites such as EBay and Alibaba advertising seemingly appropriate battery packs. Sparkfun, Adafruit, etc. also sell appropriate battery packs in single unit quantities.

Most of the companies on Ebay, Alibaba, etc. are Chinese based and are unknown to me. In many cases, the documentation is also somewhat questionable and I'm struggling to pick a manufacturer that I have reasonable confidence in.

Also, the usual electronic distributors (Digikey, etc.) don't seem to stock many Li-Ion/Li-Po battery packs at all. I'm curious to know why. Shipping restrictions? Margin?

Many thanks,
Kieran

[notsob]

Have you looked at what's available for the hobby aircraft/helicopter market - try hobbyking

[Neilm]

For a commercial product there are a load of restrictions on shipping - for instance I believe you have to ensure the product can't turn on during transit. That is why if you buy camera the battery is separate in the box, if you by a tablet it is held securely with a cutout to protect the power on off button. I believe if you ship more than a certain amount of batteries it has to be shipped as hazardous cargo.

What ever pack you use must pass the UN transport standard and any restrictions that are required by what ever standard your particular product has to meet.

I would suggest trying to find a battery that was reasonably easily available rather than going to get one built as you would have to pay for  the qualification and that isn't cheap. (for instance, one test requires 3 weeks to complete)

The only time I have had to source Li-Ion batteries were for a custom pack in a product I helped design a few years ago. I used a company called PBML based in Somerset to design, build and qualify them.

[TunerSandwich]

Go to an OEM/ODM....you DO NOT want to get stuck with "counterfeit" Li cells.  Demand a point of origin paper-trail. 

[Neilm]

Go to an OEM/ODM....you DO NOT want to get stuck with "counterfeit" Li cells.  Demand a point of origin paper-trail.

Many of the OEM suppliers will not supply to the end user if the cell has to be assembled into a pack. They will only supply to registered pack manufacturers.

[Spikee]

Go to an OEM/ODM....you DO NOT want to get stuck with "counterfeit" Li cells.  Demand a point of origin paper-trail.

Many of the OEM suppliers will not supply to the end user if the cell has to be assembled into a pack. They will only supply to registered pack manufacturers.

panasonic right ?

[Neilm]

Go to an OEM/ODM....you DO NOT want to get stuck with "counterfeit" Li cells.  Demand a point of origin paper-trail.

Many of the OEM suppliers will not supply to the end user if the cell has to be assembled into a pack. They will only supply to registered pack manufacturers.

panasonic right ?

Sanyo, before panasonic bought them

[ManCave]

Hi Kieran,

As suggested by notsob, have a look in model aeroplane stores. I had a requirement for a 160mA lipo cell before and have done my research and ended up talking to and ordering samples directly from Fullriver from China. They gave me quite a good service and the quality of the cells was pretty good. They are a quality supplier, I think their cells were used in the Pebble watch (if I'm not mistaken).

You will have to decide whether you want to buy the cells with integrated protection circuitry or whether you will design the protection into your own design. Don't forget that li-pos can be very dangerous if misused. Overcharging or high temperature can easily trigger an exothermic reaction which leads to really fast decomposition generating potentially (extremely) high temperatures.

On the other hand, over discharging (even few 100mV) will drastically reduce the life of the cell!

Good luck with you project!

Filip

[sca]

I've had good service from Creasefield for a product in the last couple of years.

sca

[TunerSandwich]

Go to an OEM/ODM....you DO NOT want to get stuck with "counterfeit" Li cells.  Demand a point of origin paper-trail.

Many of the OEM suppliers will not supply to the end user if the cell has to be assembled into a pack. They will only supply to registered pack manufacturers.

That's not necessarily true for OEM.  Also that is why I suggested ODM if an OE won't take the job.  Many short run and one off pack assemblers out there, that will guarantee OE and prove it with paper....

Also 3.7 V is not a "pack", unless we are talking parallel config....but that seems unlikely with a 150-200 maH rating

[MixedSignalSystems]

Thanks for all the suggestions and input. I've been looking at the hobby sites for RC planes, etc. and couldn't quite find what I was looking for.

Recently, somebody suggested that PowerStream might be a good place to look for LiPo batteries for my application:
http://www.powerstream.com

Indeed it was. I found a range of appropriate batteries on their site.

It might be a useful site for other people looking for batteries for low-power portable applications.

Hope this helps.

[marshallh]

Batteryspace.com

I've bougt many plain cells from them

[uoficowboy]

Hi Kieran,

As suggested by notsob, have a look in model aeroplane stores. I had a requirement for a 160mA lipo cell before and have done my research and ended up talking to and ordering samples directly from Fullriver from China. They gave me quite a good service and the quality of the cells was pretty good. They are a quality supplier, I think their cells were used in the Pebble watch (if I'm not mistaken).

You will have to decide whether you want to buy the cells with integrated protection circuitry or whether you will design the protection into your own design. Don't forget that li-pos can be very dangerous if misused. Overcharging or high temperature can easily trigger an exothermic reaction which leads to really fast decomposition generating potentially (extremely) high temperatures.

On the other hand, over discharging (even few 100mV) will drastically reduce the life of the cell!

Good luck with you project!

Filip

I've worked a good deal with Fullriver and was really happy with them. I've put their cells into multiple products that were entering mass production. No issues whatsoever. I've also visited their factory - their pouch factory is in an old schoolhouse - something like 7 stories tall. Not the highest tech facility, but definitely good enough.

Almost any American company you work with is just going to be acting as a middle man in terms of getting your cells made. That means more mouths to feed and higher cost to you.