Symmetry in Lithium Battery Charging

Dear Colleagues,

Lithium batteries have been widely used as important energy storage components in many applications, such as portable electronics, electrical/hybrid transportation, smart grids, etc. It is estimated that the global lithium-ion battery market will exceed USD 100 billion in 2025. Though lithium batteries have recently seen rapid development, improving their charging rate is still a meaningful and challenging task. The key difficulties are ensuring their lifetime and safety while increasing the charge current and designing the best strategy for batteries under different environments and aging states. Relevant charging technologies include battery modeling, state estimation, cycle life prediction, fault prognosis and diagnosis, scheme of game between lifetime and charge speed, etc.

For lithium-ion batteries, the charging method has a great impact on performance, and a reasonable charging method can extend the life of a lithium-ion battery and improve its charging efficiency. There are many charging methods for lithium-ion batteries, which have their own advantages and disadvantages in terms of charging speed, service life and implementation cost. Obtaining an optimal charging curve—that is, the fastest charging speed, the highest efficiency, and the least damage to the battery—is extremely challenging.

The research of symmetrical lithium batteries is also of concern. The electrochemical stability of new solid electrolytes to lithium is usually determined by the constant-current cycle of symmetrical lithium batteries.

This Special Issue will provide a platform for presenting the latest research results on the technological development for improving the charging rate of lithium batteries. We welcome theoretical, methodological and empirical studies, as well as review papers, that provide a critical overview on the state of the art of technologies. We strongly encourage the submission of manuscripts from cross-disciplinary fields such as battery electrochemistry, power electronics, control technology, as well as algorithmic and hardware design which can provide timely and effective solutions for emerging challenges in lithium battery charging. Please note that your submission must be related to Symmetry.

Topics of interest of this Special Issue include, but are not limited to:

• Battery mechanism analysis and modelling;
• Battery charging and discharging control;
• Optimal charging strategy;
• Fast charging technology;
• Charging stations planning;
• Low-temperature charging technology;
• Battery charging equipment/pile;
• Lithium plating on the electrode;
• Battery state estimation;
• Battery remaining life prediction;
• Fault prognosis and diagnosis;
• Scheme of game between lifetime and charge speed;
• Battery electrochemistry;
• Symmetrical lithium batteries;
• Other related topics.

Prof. Dr. Yunlong Shang
Dr. Qi Zhang
Prof. Dr. Bin Duan
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Symmetry is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.