BU-1102: Abbreviations

$Dollar in US currency (exchange rate of ca. first quarter 2016)
18650Li-ion cylindrical cell format measuring 18mm x 65mm
AAmpere (electrical)
AAMIAssociation for the Advancement of Medical Instruments
A4WPAlliance for Wireless Power
ACAlternating current
ACAAccessory Charging Adapters used to charge batteries from USB port
ADACAllgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club (German automobile club)
AEDLCAsymmetric Electrochemical Double Layer Capacitor
AFC Alkaline fuel cell
AGM Absorbent Glass Mat (battery)
AGV Automatic Guided Vehicle
Ah Ampere-hour; battery provides energy over a specified time
ALPAAir Line Pilots Association
ANSIAmerican National Standards institute
APU Auxiliary Power Unit
ASoCAbsolute state-of-charge
ASoHAbsolute state-of-health
BAPCO Business Applications Performance Corporation
Bar Unit of pressure; 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
BESSBattery energy storage system (also known as ESS)
BMSBattery management system
BMW Bavarian Engine Works (Bayerische Motoren Werke)
BTUBritish Thermal Unit; 1 BTU = 1,054 joules; 1 BTU = 0.29Wh
C Celsius, Centigrade (°C x 9/5 + 32 = °F)
Cal, food labelCalorie; 1cal = 1.16 watt; 1cal = 4.18 joules
Cal, standardCalorie; 1cal = 1.16mWh; 1cal = 4.18 kilojoules
CAN BusController Area Network, vehicular network to communicate with applications
CARB California Air Resources Board
CCACold 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 for lead acid, Li-ion)
CCV Closed circuit voltage (battery under charge or discharge)
CDMA Code Division Multiple Access (digital communication on mobile phones)
CEC Certificate of Equivalent Competency (International regulations)
CECCalifornia Energy Commission seeking high efficiency in consumer AC adapters
CID Circuit interrupt device (acts as fuse)
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
CO2Carbon dioxide (also seen as CO2)
CPR Cardiopulmonary resuscitation
C-rate Discharge rate of a battery
DCDirect current
DCADynamic charge acceptance
DC-to-DCDirect current to direct current converter, also seen as DC-DC or DC/DC
DCPDedicated Charger Port, a dedicated USB charging port only with no data
DGPDangerous Goods Panel
DGRDangerous Goods Regulation
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/dtDelta Temperature over delta time (charge method)
EBM Electronic battery monitor
EDTA Crystalline acid
EFBEnhanced Flooded Battery
EIS Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy
ELC Equivalent lithium content
EMF Electromagnetic field
EMF Electromotive force
EPA Environmental Protection Agency (US)
ESSEnergy storage systems
EVElectric vehicle
F Fahrenheit (°F - 32) x 5/9 = °C)
f Farad (unit of capacitance)
FAA Federal Aviation Administration
FC Fuel cell
FCCFull Charge Capacity
FCVT FreedomCAR & Vehicle Technologies (US Department of Energy)
FDAFood and Drug Administration
Foot/’Foot (dimension) 1’ = 12”; 1’ = 0.3048m; 1’ x 3.28 = 1m
gGram; 1g = 0.035oz; 1g x 28.35 = 1 oz
GSM Global System for Mobile Communications (cell phones)
hHour (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)
ICAO International Civil Aviation Organization
ICEInternal combustion engine
IEC International Electrochemical Commission
ILAInternational Lead Association
Inch/“Inch; 1” = 25.4mm; 1” = 0.0254 meter; 1” x 39.3 = 1m
IPF Interfacial protective film
IPPIEC aircraft 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 (unit of energy), 1J = 1A at 1V for 1s = 1 watt x second; 1J = 0.238 calorie/s
JCESRJoint Center for Energy Storage Research
kg Kilogram; 1kg = 0.45 pound; 1kg x 2.2 = 1 pound
kJ Kilo-Joule; 1kJ = 0.277Wh
km Kilometer; 1km = 0.621 miles; 1km x 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
kWKilowatt (electrical power); 1kWh = 3.6MJ; 1MJ = 860kcal = 238cal/s
kWh Kilowatt-hour (electrical energy)
LInductance (electrical coil)
lbPound (weight, from Roman libra) 1 lb x 0.45 = 1kg
LCD Liquid crystal display
LCO Lithium cobalt oxide (also LiCoO2, secondary battery)
LED Light emitting diode
LFP Lithium iron phosphate (also LiFePO4, secondary battery)
LFPT Low frequency pulse train (method to test a battery)
LiCoO2Lithium ion cobalt oxide (also LCO, secondary battery)
LiFePO4Lithium iron phosphate oxide (also LFP, secondary battery)
LiFeS2Lithium iron disulfide (primary battery)
Li-ion Lithium-ion battery (short form)
LIN BusLocal Interconnect Network, low-cost multiplexed automotive communication
Li-MLithium manganese dioxide (also LiMnO2, primary battery)
LiMn2O4Lithium ion manganese oxide (also LMO, secondary battery, spinel structure)
LiMnO2Lithium manganese dioxide (primary battery, different from secondary LiMn2O4)
LiNiCoAlO2Lithium ion nickel cobalt aluminum oxide (also NCA, secondary battery)
LiNiMnCoO2Lithium ion nickel manganese cobalt oxide (also NMC, secondary battery)
Li2TiO3Lithium titanate oxide (also LTO, secondary battery)
LiSO2Lithium sulfur dioxide (primary battery)
LiSOCI2Lithium thionyl chloride (also LTC, primary battery)
L/km Liter per kilometer
LMO Lithium ion manganese oxide (also LiMn2O4, secondary battery, spinel structure)
LTCLithium thionyl chloride (also LiSOCI2, primary battery)
LTOLithium-titanate (also Li2TiO3, secondary battery)
mMeter (dimension) 1m = 3.28 feet; 1m x 0.305 = 1 foot
mAh Milliampere-hours
MCFC Molten carbonate fuel cell
mHzMillihertz (1mHz has a sinusoidal revolution of 1,000 seconds)
Microfarad [µF] Farad is the standard unit of capacitance, one-millionth 10-6 of a farad)
Min Minute (time)
mm Millimeter (dimension) 1mm = 0.039”; 1mm x 25.4 = 1”
Mn Manganese (chemical element used in batteries)
MPa Mega-Pascal unit of pressure (1MPa = 145 psi)
MPPTMaximum power point tracking
Mpg Miles per gallon
ms Millisecond
MW Megawatt (power)
N Newton is a force. 1N = 1kg m/s2 (force required to accelerate 1kg at 1m/s)
Na-S Sodium-sulfur (battery) Also abbreviated as NaS
NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NCA Lithium-ion battery with nickel, cobalt, aluminum cathode (also LiNiCoAlO2)
NCV Net calorific value (1 food calorie = 1.16 watt-hour; standard rating is 1.16mWh)
NDV Negative delta V (full-charge detection)
NG Natural gas, consumption measured in joules (1,000 joules = 0.277Wh)
NiCd Nickel-cadmium (secondary battery)
NiFe Nickel-iron (secondary battery)
NiH Nickel-hydrogen battery (secondary)
NiMH Nickel-metal-hydride (secondary battery)
NiZn Nickel-zinc (secondary battery)
NMC Lithium-ion with nickel, manganese, cobalt cathode (also LiNiMnCoO2)
NRC National Research Council
NTC Negative temperature coefficient
OCV Open circuit voltage
OEM Original equipment manufacturer
Oz Ounce; 1 oz = 28 grams; 1 oz x 0.035 = 1 gram
PaPascal (1Pa = 0.00045psi)
PAFC Phosphoric acid fuel cell
PCPersonal computer
PEM Proton exchange membrane (fuel cell), also PEMFC
PEMFCProton 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
PMAPower Matters Alliance
PRBA Portable Rechargeable Battery Association
psi Pound per square inch (pressure) 1psi = 0.145kPa; 1psi x 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+16=Ah. A short method is dividing RC by 1.9.
R&D Research and development
RSoCRelative state-of-charge (also known as SoC)
RSoHRelative state-of-health (also known as SoH)
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 interface (Li-ion)
SG Specific gravity (acid density of electrolyte)
SLA Sealed lead acid (battery)
SLI Starter-light-ignition (battery), also known as starter battery
SMBus System Management Bus, single-ended simple two-wire bus for batteries and more
SoCState-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
US$Currency in United States dollar
USB Universal Serial Bus (data)
VVoltage (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 power; voltage x current = watts)
Wh Watt-hour (electrical energy; watts x h = Wh); 1Wh = 860 cal/h = 0.238cal/s
Wh/kgWatt-hour per kilogram (measurement of specific energy)
Wh/kmWatt-hour per kilometer
Wh/l Watt-hour per litter (measured in energy density)
Wi-FiWireless fidelity (network)
W/kgWatt per kilogram (measurement of specific power)
WPC Wireless Power Consortium, standard for wireless charging
WW World War
Z Impedance (reactance-based resistance, frequency dependent)
ZEBRA Zeolite Battery Research Africa Project (battery)
Last Updated: 20-Nov-2017
Batteries In A Portable World
Batteries In A Portable World

The material on Battery University is based on the indispensable new 4th edition of "Batteries in a Portable World - A Handbook on Rechargeable Batteries for Non-Engineers" which is available for order through Amazon.com.

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On January 6, 2019, Mostafa Yerang wrote:
Thank you for sharing valuable information
On July 2, 2018, Moulika wrote:
can I know what does "PGA" mean in battery controller IC MC33771A
On June 20, 2018, Donna wrote:
We have to find a replacement for a toshiba laptop, the closest we have found has one letter difference in the description code....instead of ACD it says ACE, is this a problem?
On August 4, 2017, Juan Trujillo wrote:
Creo que falta el BSI (Battery Size Indicator) muy importante en la telefonia movil. I think the BSI (Battery Size Indicator) is very important in mobile telephony.
On February 17, 2016, Lorcan Bonda wrote:
Does anyone know what the designation of 0.1C5A means? (the five is written as a subscript, below the line.) I'm assuming that 0.1C is the charge or discharge rates based on rated capacity, but was does the "5" and "A" mean?
On October 9, 2015, Arturo Hall wrote:
CA? MCA? This specs are very important to some areas.
On April 5, 2015, Neil Adams wrote:
Great website! Your article 'abbreviations' defines: W=electrical energy Wh=electrical power They are reversed, no?
On September 2, 2011, John Robert wrote:
The official benzo fury that is supplied by them is also under scrutiny because they keep changing suppliers even though when it was first introduced they claimed to have the only supplier in the world capable of synthesizing such a compound.
On January 13, 2011, Thomas Sebastian wrote:
wow great info I would like to see more on applications and repairing batt packs and were to get them the battery for the packs and identification. like laptop applications my dewalt packs go bad in 6 months i want to replace the bad parts and continue a new pack is 100 us a repair could be one tenth of that. Thank you tom sebastian merritt island fl 321-427-5820