18650 Li-ion cylindrical cell format measuring 18mm times 65mm
A Ampere (electrical)
AC Alternating current
ADAC Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club (German automobile club)
AFC Alkaline fuel cell
AGM Absorbent Glass Mat (battery)
AGV Automatic Guided Vehicle
Ah Ampere-hour
APU Auxiliary Power Unit
BAPCO Business Applications Performance Corporation
Bar Unit ofpressure; 1 bar = 100kPa; 1 bar = 14.503psi
bbl Measurements of liquid, 1 barrel = 42 US gallons (35 Imperial gallons), 159 liters
BCG The Boston Consulting Group
BCI Battery Council International
BMS Battery management system
BMW Bavarian Engine Works (Bayerische Motoren Werke)
BTU British Thermal Unit; 1 BTU = 1,054 joules; 1 BTU = 0.29Wh
C Celsius, Centigrade (temperature)
cal Calorie; 1cal = 4.18 joules; 1cal = 4.18 watt/s; 1,000 joules = 0.277Wh
CARB California Air Resources Board
CCA Cold cranking amps at –18°C (0°F). The norms differ as follows:
BCI discharges battery at CCA-rate for 30s; battery at or above 7.2V passes
IEC discharges battery at CCA-rate for 60s; battery at or above 8.4V passes
DIN discharges battery at CCA-rate for 30s and 150s; battery at or above 9V and 6V respectively passes
CCCV Constant current constant voltage (charge method)
CCV Closed circuit voltage (battery under charge or discharge)
CDMA Code Division Multiple Access (cell phones)
CEC Certificate of Equivalent Competency (International regulations)
CID Circuit interrupt device
CIPA Camera and Imaging Products Association
CL Current limiting (as in charging a battery)
CNG Compressed natural gas
CNT Carbon nanotube
CPU Central processing unit
Co Cobalt (metal)
COC Certificate of Competency
CO2 Carbon dioxide
CPR Cardiopulmonary resuscitation
C-rate Discharge rate of a battery
DC Direct current
DGP Dangerous Goods Panel
DIN Deutsches Institut für Normung (German Institute for Standardization)
DLC Double-layer capacitor
DMFC Direct Methanol Fuel Cell
DoD Depth of discharge
DOE Department of Energy (US)
DOT Department of Transportation (US)
DSP Digital signal processor
dT/dt Delta Temperature over delta time (charge method)
EBM Electronic battery monitor
ect. Et cetera. Latin: And so forth
EDTA Crystalline acid
EIS Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy
ELC Equivalent lithium content
EMF Electromagnetic field
EMF Electromotive force
EPA Environmental Protection Agency (US)
EV Electric vehicle
F Fahrenheit (temperature)
f Farad (unit of capacitance)
FAA Federal Aviation Administration
FC Fuel cell
FCVT FreedomCAR & Vehicle Technologies (US Department of Energy)
Foot/’ Foot (dimension) 1’= 12”; 1’ = 0.3048m; 1’times 3.28 = 1m
g Gram; 1g = 0.035oz; 1g times 28.35 = 1oz
GSM Global System for Mobile Communications (cell phones)
h Hour (time)
HEV Hybrid electric vehicle
hp Horsepower (power) 1hp = 745.7 watts
Hz Hertz (electrical frequency)
I Current(electrical)
i.e. Id est. Latin: That is
IATA International Air Transport Association
IC Integrated circuit (chip)
IC Internal combustion (engine)
ICAO International Civil Aviation Organization
IEC International Electrochemical Commission
Inch/“ Inch; 1”= 25.4mm; 1” = 0.0254 meter; 1”times 39.3 = 1m
IPF Interfacial protective film
IPP IECaircraft battery rating (0.3/15s power discharge)
IPR Aircraft battery rating according to IEC (15s power discharge)
IS Intrinsic safety (used on batteries)
J Joule, 1J = 1A at 1V for 1s = 1 watt/s; 1J = 0.238calorie/s
kg Kilogram; 1kg = 0.45 pound; 1kg times 2.2 = 1 pound
kJ Kilo-Joule; 1kJ = 0.277Wh
km Kilometer; 1km = 0.621 miles; 1km times 1.60 = 1 mile
kN Kilo-Newton (law of motion) 1N = 1kg m/s2
kPa Kilo-Pascal (pressure); 1kPa = 0.01 bar; 1kPa = 0.145psi
kW Kilowatt (electrical energy); 1kWh = 3.6MJ; 1MJ = 860kcal = 238cal/s
kWh Kilowatt-hour (electrical power)
L Inductance (electrical coil)
lb Pound (weight, from Roman libra) 1 lb times 0.45 = 1kg
LCD Liquid crystal display
LCO Lithium cobalt oxide
LED Light emitting diode
LFP Lithium-iron-phosphate
LFPT Low frequency pulse train (method to test a battery)
LiCoO2 Lithium-ion-cobalt-oxide
LiFePO4 Lithium-iron-phosphate-oxide
Li-ion Lithium-ion battery (short form)
LiMn2O4 Lithium-ion-manganese-oxide
LiNiCoAlO2 Lithium-ion-nickel-cobalt-aluminum-oxide
LiNiMnCoO2 Lithium-on-nickel-manganese-cobalt-oxide
Li5Ti5O13 Lithium-titanate-oxide
L/km Liter per kilometer
LMO Lithium-manganese-oxide
LTO Lithium-titanate
m Meter (dimension) 1m = 3.28 feet; 1m times 0.30 = 1 foot
mAh Milliampere-hours
MCFC Molten carbonate fuel cell
Microfarad [µF] Capacitor rating, one-millionth 10-6 of a farad)
Min Minute (time)
mm Millimeter (dimension) 1mm = 0.039”; 1mm times 25.4 = 1”
Mn Manganese(chemical element used in batteries)
mpa Mega-Pascall unit of pressure
Mpg Miles per gallon
ms Millisecond, one-thousand of a second (10-3).
MW Megawatt (power)
N Newton (law of motion) 1N = 1kg m/s2 (force required to accelerate 1kg at 1m/s)
NaS Sodium-sulfur (battery)
NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NCA Lithium-ion battery with nickel, cobalt, aluminum cathode
NCV Net calorific value (1 food calorie = 1.16 watt-hour)
NDV Negative delta V (full-charge detection)
NG Natural gas, consumption measured in joules (1,000 joules = 0.277Wh)
NiCd Nickel-cadmium (battery)
NiFe Nickel-iron (battery)
NiH Nickel-hydrogen battery
NiMH Nickel-metal-hydride (battery)
NiZn Nickel-zinc (battery)
NMC Lithium-ion with nickel, manganese, cobalt cathode
NRC National Research Council
NTC Negative temperature coefficient
OCV Open circuit voltage
OEM Original equipment manufacturer
Oz Ounce; 1 oz = 28 grams; 1 oz times 0.035 = 1 gram
PAFC Phosphoric acid fuel cell
PC Personal computer
PEM Proton exchange membrane (fuel cell), also PEMFC
PEMFC Proton exchange membrane fuel cell, also PEM
pf Pico-farad (capacitor rating, one-trillionth 10-12 of a farad)
pf Power factor (ratio of real power to the apparent power on AC)
PHEV Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle
PRBA Portable rechargeable battery Association
psi Pound per square inch (pressure) 1psi = 0.145kPa; 1psi times 6.89 = 1kPa
PTC Positive temperature coefficient
PTC Over-voltage protection (batteries, motors, speakers)
QA Quality assurance
Qi Standard on inductive charging by Wireless Power Consortium (WPC)
Q-Mag™ Quantum magnetic battery analysis (Cadex trademark)
R Resistor (electrical)
RBRC Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation
RC Remote control (hobbyist)
RC Reserve capacity of starter battery. Conversion formula:. RC divided by 2 plus 16 = Ah
R&D Research and development
RPM Revolution per minute
s Second (time)
SAE Society of Automotive Engineers, founded early in 1900 by US auto manufacturers
SBS Smart Battery System
SEI Solid electrolyte interphase (Li-ion)
SG Specific gravity (acid density of electrolyte)
SLA Sealed lead acid (battery)
SLI Starter-light-ignition (battery), also knows as starter battery
SMBus System Management Bus (smart battery)
SoC State-of-charge
SoF State-of-function
SOFC Solid oxide fuel cell
SoH State-of-health
UL United Laboratories (product safety testing and certification)
UPS Uninterruptible power supply
USB Universal Serial Bus (data)
V Voltage (electrical)
VA Volt-ampere (similar to watt with true current flow in a reactive load)
VAC Voltage with alternating current (grid)
VL Voltage limiting (as in charging a battery)
VRLA Valve regulated lead acid (battery)
W Watt (electrical energy; voltage times current = watts)
Wh Watt-hour (electrical power; watts times h = Wh); 1Wh = 860 cal/h = 0.238cal/s
Wh/kg Watt-hour per kilogram (measurement of specific energy)
Wh/km Watt-hour per kilometer
Wh/l Watt-hour per litter (measured in energy density)
Wi-Fi Wireless fidelity (network)
W/kg Watt per kilogram (measurement of specific power)
WPC Wireless Power Consortium
WW World War
Z Impedance (reactance-based resistance, frequency dependent)