Early batteries of the 1700s and 1800s were mostly encased in glass jars. As the batteries grew in size, jars shifted to sealed wooden containers and composite materials. There were few size standards, except perhaps the No. 6 Dry Cell named after its six inches of height. Other sizes were hand-built for specific uses. With the move to portability, sealed cylindrical cells emerged that led to standards. In around 1917, the National Institute of Standards and Technology formalized the alphabet nomenclature that is still used today. Table 1 summarizes these historic and current battery sizes.
Size | Dimensions | History |
F cell | 33 x 91 mm | Introduced in 1896 for lanterns; later used for radios; only available in nickel-cadmium today |
E cell | N/A | Introduced ca. 1905 to power box lanterns and hobby applications. Discontinued ca. 1980 |
D cell | 34.2 x 61.5mm | Introduced in 1898 for flashlights and radios; still current |
C cell | 25.5 x 50mm | Introduced ca. 1900 to attain smaller form factor |
Sub-C | 22.2 x 42.9mm | Cordless tool battery. Other sizes are ½, 4/5 and 5/4 sub-C lengths. Mostly NiCd. |
B cell | 20.1 x 56.8mm | Introduced in 1900 for portable lighting, including bicycle lights in Europe; discontinued in in North America in 2001 |
A cell | 17 x 50mm | Only available as a NiCd or NiMH cell; also available in 2/3 and 4/5 size. Popular in old laptops and hobby batteries. |
AA cell | 14.5 x 50mm | Introduced in 1907 as penlight battery for pocket lights and spy tool in WWI; added to ANSI standard in 1947. |
AAA cell | 10.5 x 44.5mm | Developed in 1954 to reduce size for Kodak and Polaroid cameras. Added to ANSI standard in 1959 |
AAAA cell | 8.3 x 42.5mm | Offshoot of 9V, since 1990s; used for laser pointers, LED penlights, computer styli, headphone amplifiers. |
4.5V battery | 67 x 62 | Three cells form a flat pack; short terminal strip is positive, long strip is negative; common in Europe, Russia |
9V battery | 48.5 x 26.5 | Introduced in 1956 for transistor radios; contains six prismatic or AAAA cells. Added to ANSI standard in 1959 |
18650 | 18 x 65mm | Developed in the mid-1990s for lithium-ion-ion; commonly used in laptops, e-bikes, including Tesla EV cars |
26650 | 26 x 65mm | Larger Li-ion. Some measure 26x70mm sold as 26700. Common chemistry is LiFeO4 for UPS, hobby, automotive. |
14500 | 14x 50mm | Li-ion, similar size to AA. (Observe voltage incompatibility: NiCd/NiMH = 1.2V, alkaline = 1.5V, Li-ion = 3.6V) |
Table 1: Common old and new battery norms
Standardization included primary cells, mostly in carbon-zinc; alkaline emerged only in the early 1960s. With the popularity of the sealed nickel-cadmium in the 1950s and 1960s, new sizes appeared, many of which were derived from the “A” and “C” sizes. Manufacturers of Li-ion departed from conventional sizes and invented their own.
The International Electrochemical Commission (IEC), a non-governmental standards organization founded in 1906, developed standards for most rechargeable batteries under the number of 600086. The relevant US standards are the ANSI C18 series developed by the US National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA).
A successful standard for a cylindrical cell is the 18650. Developed in the mid-1990s for lithium-ion, these cells power laptops, electric bicycles and even electric vehicles, as with the Tesla cars. The first two digits designate the diameter in millimeters; the next three digits are the length in tenths of millimeters. The 18650 is 18mm in diameter and 65.0mm in length.
Prismatic cells use the first two digits to indicate the thickness in tenth of millimeters. The next two digits designate the widths and the last two provide the length of the cell in millimeters. The 564656P prismatic cell, for example, is 5.6mm thick, 46mm wide and 56mm long. P stands for prismatic. Because of the large variety of chemistries and their diversity within, battery cells do not mark the chemistry.
Looking at the batteries in mobile phones and laptops one sees a departure of established standards. This is in part due to the manufacturer’s inability to agree on a standard. Most consumer devices come with a custom-made battery. Compact design and tailoring to market demands are swaying manufacturers away from standards. High volume tolerates unique sizes that are often short-lived.
In the early days, a battery was perceived as “big” and this reflects in the sizing convention. While the “F” nomenclature may have been chosen as a middle-of-the-road battery in the late 1800s, our forefathers did not forestall that a tiny battery could do computing, serve as telephone and shoot pictures in a smartphone. Running out of letters towards the smaller sizes led to the awkward of AA, AAA and AAAA designation.
Since the introduction of the 9V battery in 1956, no new format emerged. Meanwhile portable devices lowered the operating voltages and 9V is overkill. The battery has six cells in series and is expensive to manufacture. A 3.6V alternative would serve well. This pack should have a coding system to prevent charging primaries and selecting the correct charge algorithm for secondary chemistries.
Starter batteries for vehicles also follow battery norms, which consist of the North American BCI, the European DIN and the Japanese JIS standards. These batteries are similar in footprint to allow swapping. To standardize, American car manufacturers are converting to the American DIN size batteries. Deep-cycle and stationary batteries have no standardized norms and the replacement packs must be sourced from the original maker. The attempt to standardize electric vehicle batteries may not work either and follow the failed attempt of common laptop batteries in the 1990s.
Last Updated: 26-May-2015
Batteries In A Portable World
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On September 24, 2018, ARUN RAJVANSHI wrote:
between 800 Mah and 2200 Mah would thermistor would compulsorily be different
On July 6, 2017, scott wrote:
im interested in building my own batteries for a special purpose self designed portable illumination system for tunnel constructing
On March 1, 2017, Jesús García wrote:
Hello, What would be the best battery to use in a motorbike for participating in competition race? We need high power for high speed and the less time possible to recharge. Is there any graphene pouch cell available to fulfill this requirements? Thanks!
On November 16, 2016, CARLOS F. CANETE wrote:
I wonder how big a TFB —Li-ion or other type— could be. In the cylindrical type, are the number of spires limited? Is the size proportional to fire hazards? In EV, I can´t think of a series of flashlight battery trays weighing hundreds of pounds and occupying so much space. Is the Pleistocene of EV batteries coming to an end in a near future? Can we manufacture bigger and lighter batteries? Thank you.
On March 4, 2016, Douglas Dunn wrote:
Another great article! I remember seeing the tear down of a Leaf at Nissans development center in California... It's interesting how Nissan used pouch cells and then encased them into metal modules... With a smart network that monitors individual cell temp and condition in theory you can replace defective cells, although there are less modules then in the Tesla... I just purchased a soul EV and I can't wait to dig into the technical specs, I understand they use a different chemistry then the leaf... http://insideevs.com/full-details-released-on-2015-kia-soul-evs-advanced-battery/ Many thanks to the folks at cadex! Proud to have you folks right here in my home town!
On February 4, 2016, jason wrote:
this article provides a comprehensive and professional introduction of different types of lithium ion battery, as a former employee in ATL,i have recovered my knowleage on laminated lithium ion batteries design and production processes by reading this article,now i worked in EV industry as a BMS strategy designer,i would like to often visite this site to expand my knowleage in this field.