According to the cathode material, Lithium iron battery can mainly divide into three parts: LiCoO2, LiMn2O4 and LiFePO4 battery pack.

Table: Comparison between LiCoO2, LiMn2O4 and LiFePO4 material.

Cathode materials	LiCoO2	LiMn2O4	LiFePO4
Reversible capacity(mAh/g)	140	100	145
Working voltage plateau(V)	3.7	3.8	3.2
Charge termination voltage(V)	4.25	4.25	3.85
Overcharge tolerance(V)	0.1	0.1	0.7
R.T. Cycle life( cycles)	400	300	1000
55℃ Cycle life( cycles)	300	100	800
Heat Flow by DSC ( KJ/g)	650	150	10
Overcharge without PCB	4.9V/3C Firing	8V/3C Firing	25V/3C Pass
Battery energy density( Wh/kg)	180	100	130

From this table, we can see:

1. Lithium cobalt oxide LiCoO2 chemistry has been used for consumer electronics and digital applications, such as mobile phones and digital cameras, since 1993. LiCoO2 battery offers very high energy density. However, this chemistry is not suitble to large format Lithium-ion Battery for E-bicycle applications, because that LiCoO2 material is very expensive and unsafe. The element of cobalt Co in lithium cobalt oxide LiCoO2 is a precious metal with very limited resource in our planet. It price has been rised all the time like petroleum. The crystal structure of LiCoO2 is unstable during recharging process. Slight overcharge to LiCoO2 would cause its struture collapse, resulting in firing and explosion. Therefore, LiCoO2 battery can not be used for E-bicycles.

2. The chemistry  of lithium manganese oxide LiMn2O4 is a better option for E-Bicycle applications, because of its lower price and higher safety, but its cycle life is not very good, especially at elevated temperature. It has been in mass produce for more than 3 years, and technology is rather matured. We can provide you with power packs having better performance. higher safety and lower prices.

3. Lithium iron phosphate LiFePO4 has been becoming "best-choice" materials in commercial Li-ion Batteries for large capacity and high power applications, such as lap-top, power tools, e-wheel chair, E-bicycles, e-car and e-bus. A LiFePO4 battery have hybrid characters: as safe as lead-acid battery and as powerful as lithium ion cells, with lower cost. But because it is a new technology, and produce quantity is not as large as other two kind of material battery, the produce cost is still high, and material cost also very high for some reason, so its current price is still higher than LiMn2O4, we believe it will be better in price and perdormance in near future.

4. Although there is different advantage and shortage in both three material lithium battery, It is no doubt that Lithium-ion Battery is the best power solution for E-bicycle applications and that it is a trend to use Li-ion Battery Pack in E-bicycles to replace lead-acid battery.