The new Lithium Titanate technology is coming

Lithium titanate (Li4Ti5O12, referred to as LTO in the battery industry) is a promising anode material for certain niche applications that require high rate capability and long cycle life.

LTO offers advantages in terms of power and chemical stability, but LTO based batteries have lower voltage: between 2.5V and 1.9V. Nevertheless, the lower operating voltage brings significant advantages in terms of safety.

Further, these batteries can be charged fast. Data shows that these batteries can be safely charged at rates higher than 10C. This means the battery can be charged in less than 10 minutes.

The LTO based batteries also have a wider operating temperature range and a recharge efficiency exceeding 98%. Although the energy density of LTO based batteries is low compared to other lithium ion batteries, it is still higher than lead acid and NiCad batteries.

There are numerous applications where lead acid batteries and NiCad batteries are used in conjunction with generators. The volumetric change during charge and discharge is very small compared to carbon and results provide much longer cycle life. 

LTO based batteries provide much better low temperature performance compared to carbon based batteries.

The large cycle life and high rate capability of LTO based batteries also brings unique advantages in applications where the reliability of the grid is poor. When the grid power is available, the batteries can be charged quickly and discharged slowly. This will save a significant amount of cost in terms of diesel and frequent replacements of VRLA batteries.

For electric vehicles, the fast recharge capability makes a huge difference in recharge time compared to other chemistries: 10 minutes for LTO based batteries compared to 8 hours for certain chemistries.