Lithiums after 10 years?

[louie]

So I just ordered a few boxes of Surefire lithium batteries, and it got me to wonder - everyone cites the "10 year shelf life" of lithium batteries. So what happens after 10 years? In year 11, 80% capacity of new, year 12, 70%, or somesuch? Is there a linear decay? Is a 10 year old cell just as good as a 1 year old cell?

 

[Doug S]

[ QUOTE ]
louie said:
So I just ordered a few boxes of Surefire lithium batteries, and it got me to wonder - everyone cites the "10 year shelf life" of lithium batteries. So what happens after 10 years? In year 11, 80% capacity of new, year 12, 70%, or somesuch? Is there a linear decay? Is a 10 year old cell just as good as a 1 year old cell?

[/ QUOTE ]

It depends on storage conditions. The higher the temps the greater the degradation. FWIW, I once did a capacity test on some LithiumSO2 cells [which is a different battery type] that were 10 years old and they still met the minimum capacity spec for new cells.

 

[Cthelite]

So, after ten years, will they still preform as new and give
normal expectations of usage life or will they drain quicker...?