Nickel Cadmium
Since the 1960s, Nickel Cadmium (Ni-Cad) batteries have been the most widely used battery chemistry for portable applications. Their combination of ruggedness, low cost and size variety has been unbeatable.
However, in the last 10 – 15 years Ni-Cads have become passé as environmental issues and more energy-dense chemistries like Lithium Ion have taken over. Ni-Cads continue to be used in some applications where their ability to deliver high currents and survive overcharging makes them still viable. Examples of this are inexpensive power tools and cordless telephones.
