On 13/3/19 2:43 pm, 'Richard Youl' via TramsDownUnder wrote:

> *A total of 676 cells. * These are 460 Ah, 3.2 volt cells using lithium iron phosphate chemistry - a very safe and robust chemistry for home energy storage. They are not particularly high discharge cells, but will take a 100 amp charge and 200 amp discharge.

>

While  LiFePO₄ cells won't explode into fireballs like some other lithium chemistry, they still need proper charge controllers to prevent the cells being damaged and having a very short service life.

Telsa are NOT using them as both the energy density and maximum charge currents are not high enough to get the performance they want. It's going to be a similar issue with buses and trams. While intrinsically safe, the (relatively) slow fast charge rates and lower energy density are holding them back.

LiFePO wouldn't be suitable for any application that uses 'flash' charging, like the Newcastle trams for example.