Hi guys! I friend on YouTube named matsv201 recently shared this great information about Lithium batteries (and some on other chemistries near the bottom) feel free to add your knowledge, I found it fascinating 
Polymer, Cobalt-crome, Carbon and Maganese are all part of the original Lithium-Ion family and Grafine is in the experimental stage, they are similar to Carbon or Polymer, just a little bit better. They all have 3,6 or 3,7 volt and have mostly 150-250Wh/kg (for just the cells)
Polymer:
This is the section about non-Lithium batteries and how the different materials that were used in early generation bikes could be expected to perform.
First generation NiMh:
Polymer, Cobalt-crome, Carbon and Maganese are all part of the original Lithium-Ion family and Grafine is in the experimental stage, they are similar to Carbon or Polymer, just a little bit better. They all have 3,6 or 3,7 volt and have mostly 150-250Wh/kg (for just the cells)
Polymer:
- Advantages: High power, God with prismatic cells (square ones), high energy-density (typically 200Wh/kg), cheep for low capacity, fast charge (in theory), Highish efficensy (up to 95%), self contained cells (don't need a packed)
- Disadvantages: Degrade relatively fast (about 500C in real life), not that cheep, burn really easy (quite dangerous)
- Usage: Phones, cameras, and thin laptop computers (i can see how someone could put this in a bike to make the battery-pack really slim, but the life span would be really short
- Advantages: Highish power, High power density (up to 250wh/kg), high efficiency (up to 98%), today one of the cheepest Li-Ion batterys)
- Disadvantages: Degrades relatively fast (typically 600C in real life), burns easy
- Usage: Laptop computer and power tool, i guess some E-bikes (probably some electric cars)
- Advantages: Highish power, Highis power density (typically 180wh/kg), high efficensy, safer the the previews two.
- Disadvantages: Degrade medium fast (like 800C in real life), a little bit more expensive
- Usage: Electric cars, professional power tools, some compute
- Similar to Polymer
- Advantages: High power, high efficency, durable (3000+C), use less resources, fast charge time (10 minutes 90%), extremely safe, efficent
- Disadvantages: Low availability, low/odd voltage (2.3V), low energy density (90wh/kg)
- Usage: Hybrid cars mostly
- Advantages: Almost no rare materials, theoretically cheep (but not today, probably in 5 years), durable (about 2000C), really safe, high output power, really robust
- Disadvantages: Low availability, odd voltage (3.25V), high physical volume, slow charge time (typically 60-90 minutes), not that efficient (get warm while charging), low energy density (120wh/kg)
- Usages: Mostly hybrid cars
- Advantages: Cheep materials, high energy density (400Wh/kg), low self dishcharge, long shelf life
- Disadvantages: Low power, hard to get, degrade fast (300C or so), high physical volume)
- Usage: Science stuff
- Advantages: High energy density (300Wh/kg), low volume, fast to charge, high power, durable (10 000+C probobly)
- Disadvantages: don´t exist outside labs, about 10-20 years to market
This is the section about non-Lithium batteries and how the different materials that were used in early generation bikes could be expected to perform.
First generation NiMh:
- Advantages: Safe charging, needs no charging controller, safe easy to use cells, available, really high mass production, needs no packaging, can be safely used as single cells
- Disadvantages: High self discharge, low voltage (1.25V), low efficiency (65%), really slow to charge (typically 120 minutes), actually not that cheep to make. Low energy density (80Wh/kg), not durable (500C), bad memory effect
- Usages: single use battery replacement, older electric cars, older cellphones
- Advantages: Same as the old ones, but more efficient (about 80%), faster to charge (about 60 minutes), more durable (about 600C or so)
- Disadvantages: Lower capacity (about 70Wh/kg
- Usages: Almost only single use replacement
- Advantages: Safe to use, easy to use, easy to charge, cheep to make, higher power than NiMh
- Disadvantages: Really toxic, low energy density (~50Wh), really bad memory effect.
- Usage: industrial applications, Iligal for consumer use in Europe today
- Advantages: Highish energy density (~100-200Wh/kg), safe charge, high durability, mature tech
- Disadvantages: Low power, hot core, dangerous to handle, can´t make small batteries
- Usage: Industrial installation for NiCd replacement, some experimental electric car.
- Advantages: Mature, relativity safe charge, cheep, available, low disscharge, long shelf life (20+ years), available
- Disadvantages: Use acid, needs services (if its not service free type) low energy density (40wh/kg typically), degrades fast (500C), toxic
- Advantages: Really robust, higher energy density then other batteries in the family (80wh/Kg), durable (20 000C) long shelf life (15+years), really mature tech, virtually indestructible (electrically), low material costs
- Disadvantages: Low power, hard to get, uses a pressure vessel. low voltage (1.5V), high volume
- Usage: Space and industry
