| $ | Dollar in US currency (exchange rate of ca. first quarter 2016) |
| 18650 | Li-ion cylindrical cell format measuring 18mm x 65mm |
| A | Ampere (electrical) |
| AAMI | Association for the Advancement of Medical Instruments |
| A4WP | Alliance for Wireless Power |
| AC | Alternating current |
| ACA | Accessory Charging Adapters used to charge batteries from USB port |
| ADAC | Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club (German automobile club) |
| AEDLC | Asymmetric 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 |
| ALPA | Air Line Pilots Association |
| ANSI | American National Standards institute |
| APU | Auxiliary Power Unit |
| ASoC | Absolute state-of-charge |
| ASoH | Absolute 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 |
| BESS | Battery energy storage system (also known as ESS) |
| 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 (°C x 9/5 + 32 = °F) |
| Cal, food label | Calorie; 1cal = 1.16 watt; 1cal = 4.18 joules |
| Cal, standard | Calorie; 1cal = 1.16mWh; 1cal = 4.18 kilojoules |
| CAN Bus | Controller Area Network, vehicular network to communicate with applications |
| 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 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) |
| CEC | California 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 |
| CO2 | Carbon dioxide (also seen as CO2) |
| CPR | Cardiopulmonary resuscitation |
| C-rate | Discharge rate of a battery |
| DC | Direct current |
| DCA | Dynamic charge acceptance |
| DC-to-DC | Direct current to direct current converter, also seen as DC-DC or DC/DC |
| DCP | Dedicated Charger Port, a dedicated USB charging port only with no data |
| DGP | Dangerous Goods Panel |
| DGR | Dangerous 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/dt | Delta Temperature over delta time (charge method) |
| EBM | Electronic battery monitor |
| EDTA | Crystalline acid |
| EFB | Enhanced Flooded Battery |
| EIS | Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy |
| ELC | Equivalent lithium content |
| EMF | Electromagnetic field |
| EMF | Electromotive force |
| EPA | Environmental Protection Agency (US) |
| ESS | Energy storage systems |
| EV | Electric vehicle |
| F | Fahrenheit (°F - 32) x 5/9 = °C) |
| f | Farad (unit of capacitance) |
| FAA | Federal Aviation Administration |
| FC | Fuel cell |
| FCC | Full Charge Capacity |
| FCVT | FreedomCAR & Vehicle Technologies (US Department of Energy) |
| FDA | Food and Drug Administration |
| Foot/’ | Foot (dimension) 1’ = 12”; 1’ = 0.3048m; 1’ x 3.28 = 1m |
| g | Gram; 1g = 0.035oz; 1g x 28.35 = 1 oz |
| 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) |
| ICAO | International Civil Aviation Organization |
| ICE | Internal combustion engine |
| IEC | International Electrochemical Commission |
| ILA | International Lead Association |
| Inch/“ | Inch; 1” = 25.4mm; 1” = 0.0254 meter; 1” x 39.3 = 1m |
| IPF | Interfacial protective film |
| IPP | IEC 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 |
| JCESR | Joint 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 |
| kW | Kilowatt (electrical power); 1kWh = 3.6MJ; 1MJ = 860kcal = 238cal/s |
| kWh | Kilowatt-hour (electrical energy) |
| L | Inductance (electrical coil) |
| lb | Pound (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) |
| LiCoO2 | Lithium ion cobalt oxide (also LCO, secondary battery) |
| LiFePO4 | Lithium iron phosphate oxide (also LFP, secondary battery) |
| LiFeS2 | Lithium iron disulfide (primary battery) |
| Li-ion | Lithium-ion battery (short form) |
| LIN Bus | Local Interconnect Network, low-cost multiplexed automotive communication |
| Li-M | Lithium manganese dioxide (also LiMnO2, primary battery) |
| LiMn2O4 | Lithium ion manganese oxide (also LMO, secondary battery, spinel structure) |
| LiMnO2 | Lithium manganese dioxide (primary battery, different from secondary LiMn2O4) |
| LiNiCoAlO2 | Lithium ion nickel cobalt aluminum oxide (also NCA, secondary battery) |
| LiNiMnCoO2 | Lithium ion nickel manganese cobalt oxide (also NMC, secondary battery) |
| Li2TiO3 | Lithium titanate oxide (also LTO, secondary battery) |
| LiSO2 | Lithium sulfur dioxide (primary battery) |
| LiSOCI2 | Lithium thionyl chloride (also LTC, primary battery) |
| L/km | Liter per kilometer |
| LMO | Lithium ion manganese oxide (also LiMn2O4, secondary battery, spinel structure) |
| LTC | Lithium thionyl chloride (also LiSOCI2, primary battery) |
| LTO | Lithium-titanate (also Li2TiO3, secondary battery) |
| m | Meter (dimension) 1m = 3.28 feet; 1m x 0.305 = 1 foot |
| mAh | Milliampere-hours |
| MCFC | Molten carbonate fuel cell |
| mHz | Millihertz (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) |
| MPPT | Maximum 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 |
| Pa | Pascal (1Pa = 0.00045psi) |
| 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 |
| PMA | Power 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 |
| RSoC | Relative state-of-charge (also known as SoC) |
| RSoH | Relative 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 |
| 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 |
| US$ | Currency in United States dollar |
| 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 power; voltage x current = watts) |
| Wh | Watt-hour (electrical energy; watts x 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, 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
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.