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It has come to my
attention that there is a lot of misinformation
circulating regarding the Lithium Ion battery systems
currently used in the Liberty Coach. I would like
to refer to an article which was circulated when Liberty
Coach first installed the Lithium Ion Iron Phosphate
batteries:
"The Lithium-Ion system we are now using is a
Lithium Iron Phosphate battery which makes it inherently
safer and very stable compared to the Lithium Cobalt
Oxide which is very volatile. You may hear from some
people that these are very unsafe, have been recalled,
explode, etc... it is also not efficient in our
application and has a much shorter cycle life, so we are
not using that type of Lithium-Ion battery. The
batteries that explode and experience thermal run-away
when damaged or overcharged are Lithium Cobalt Oxide. We
are using Lithium Iron Phosphate technology.
The safety characteristics inherent to lithium
iron phosphate technology result from:
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The incorporation of phosphates as the cathode
material. Phosphates are extremely stable in
overcharge or short circuit conditions and have the
ability to withstand high temperatures without
decomposing.
-
When abuse does occur, phosphates are not prone to
thermal runaway and will not burn. As a result,
lithium iron phosphate technology possesses safety
characteristics that are fundamentally superior to
those of Lithium-ion batteries made with other
cathode materials.
-
Lithium iron phosphate technology does not contain
any heavy metals and does not exhibit the "memory
effect" of Nickel-Cadmium and Nickel-metal Hydride
solutions. Lithium iron phosphate technology
demonstrates excellent shelf life, long cycle life
and is maintenance free.
The advantages of traditional Lithium-ion coupled
with the safety features of phosphates, make lithium
iron phosphate technology the Lithium-ion technology for
the future. Our lithium iron phosphate Lithium-ion
technology utilizes natural, phosphate-based material
and offers the greatest combination of performance,
safety, cost, reliability and environmental
characteristics.
We have been assured by the manufacturer and have
watched safety presentations and videos of them shooting
the batteries and overcharging them, that these are
safe."
After reading this article and a little effortless
research, one will find that the leading Motor Yacht,
Sailing Yacht, and Motor Home manufacturers globally are
installing the Lithium Ion Iron Phosphate battery
technology, and this type of battery technology is
regularly flown on commercial aircraft. It is also
noteworthy that Lithium Ion battery technology is so
important and ground breaking that many companies are
spending 100's of millions of dollars in Michigan and
other states to build plants specifically for the
manufacture of Lithium Ion batteries as part of
alternative energy plans; please refer to the following
links:
Building additional battery factories
New Michigan Battery Factory Plant
Since Liberty Coach has continually set the
benchmark for technological advancements, it should come
as no surprise that we have continually installed this
technology since January 2010 and can report that the
batteries should easily keep the systems alive for the
documented 2000 cycles, which could easily be 10 years
or more. This translates to a significant reduction of
battery replacement.
The installation of the Lithium Ion Iron Phosphate
technology has enabled Liberty Coach to reduce the
weight of the coach as well as reducing the generator
fuel consumption. This battery technology enables
a full state of charge to be reached much faster than
the traditional battery technology thus reducing the run
time of the generator systems. As we all board the
coach heading to a greener world, clearly Liberty Coach
has already left the station with plenty of forward
momentum and reserve capacity.
In conclusion, the most important element in the
coach building process is customer safety. All of the
technological advancements available mean nothing if
safety is compromised. I can assure you that
Liberty Coach continually ranks consumer safety as our
number one priority.
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