Cells for e-bikes, scooters and light traction
Traction packs are bought on range and warranty. Both come back to cycle life at the depth of discharge the pack actually sees, not the depth quoted on a data sheet.
What the pack actually demands
Controller limits set the continuous current; hills and acceleration set the peaks. Cycle life at 80% depth of discharge and realistic charge rates is the number that turns into warranty exposure.
Which grade
Balanced 18650 cells in the 10–20 A class for legacy platforms, and 21700 cells in the 25–45 A class where the pack is being designed new and range per kilogram matters.
What usually goes wrong
Mixing batches or states of charge in one pack. Uneven cells force the BMS to cut early on both charge and discharge, and the pack loses the range it was specified for.
Candidates in the catalogue
Cells on file that meet this duty profile
Selected with the same thresholds used on each model page, so a cell listed here and a model page pointing back at this application always agree. Figures are as published; models without a manufacturer data sheet are marked pending.
| Model | Brand | Format | Capacity | Cont. discharge | Max charge | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| INR21700-P45B | Molicel | 21700 | 4,500 mAh | 45 A | 13.5 A | Datasheet |
| INR21700-P42A | Molicel | 21700 | 4,200 mAh | 45 A | — | Datasheet |
| INR21700-40T | Samsung SDI | 21700 | 4,000 mAh | 35 A | — | Pending |
| INR21700-50S | Samsung SDI | 21700 | 5,000 mAh | 25 A | 6 A | Pending |
| INR18650-25R | Samsung SDI | 18650 | 2,500 mAh | 20 A | — | Pending |
| INR18650-30Q | Samsung SDI | 18650 | 3,000 mAh | 15 A | — | Pending |
| INR18650-M35A | Molicel | 18650 | 3,450 mAh | 10 A | 1.7 A | Datasheet |
| NCR18650GA | Panasonic | 18650 | 3,450 mAh | 10 A | — | Pending |
| INR18650-M30A | Molicel | 18650 | 3,000 mAh | 10 A | 3.0 A | Datasheet |
| INR18650-MH1 | LG Energy Solution | 18650 | 3,200 mAh | 10 A | 3.1 A | Pending |
| INR18650-MJ1 | LG Energy Solution | 18650 | 3,500 mAh | 10 A | 3.4 A | Pending |
Where to go next
Formats that fit this application
Other applications
Compare duty profiles
Working on something like this?
Send the duty profile and envelope. We will come back with candidate cells and the documents behind them.