From the perspective of application scenarios, power lithium batteries are primarily used in electric vehicles, electric bicycles, and other electric-powered tools, whereas energy‑storage lithium batteries are mainly employed in peak‑shaving and frequency‑regulation ancillary services, renewable‑energy grid integration, and microgrid applications. Due to these differing use cases, the performance requirements for the batteries also vary.
　　First, as a portable power source, power lithium batteries are subject to stringent requirements for both volumetric (and gravimetric) energy density—while prioritizing safety—in order to achieve longer driving ranges. At the same time, users expect electric vehicles to support safe, fast charging; consequently, power lithium batteries must meet high standards for both energy density and power density. However, for safety reasons, most currently deployed batteries operate at charge–discharge rates of around 1C.
　　The vast majority of energy‑storage installations do not require relocation, so there are no direct requirements for energy density in lithium‑ion batteries used for storage. As for power density, different application scenarios impose varying demands. For applications such as grid‑peak‑shaving, off‑grid photovoltaic storage, or user‑side arbitrage between peak and off‑peak tariffs, the battery typically needs to sustain charging or discharging for two hours or longer; therefore, capacity‑type batteries with a charge–discharge rate of ≤0.5C are well suited.
　　For energy‑storage applications that involve frequency regulation or smoothing the intermittency of renewable energy, batteries are required to deliver rapid charge–discharge cycles on timescales ranging from seconds to minutes; thus, power‑type batteries with a C‑rate of 2C or higher are well suited. In contrast, for scenarios that simultaneously demand both frequency regulation and peak‑shaving, energy‑type batteries are more appropriate; of course, in such cases, power‑type and energy‑type batteries can also be used in combination.