Iron phosphate is a relatively new lithium ion chemistry that has proven to be quite reliable, inherently safe and long lasting. While iron phosphate does not have as high an energy density or specific energy attribute as other lithium ion chemistries, it is still much higher than lead acid. These benefits make the chemistry quite attractive to markets looking to replace their lead acid with a lighter alternative.
Perhaps the best benefit of iron phosphate over lead acid is that its useful life is based on full cycles. Lead acid cells and batteries must be maintained at a state-of-charge that is at least 50%. This makes the useable cycling range of lead acid batteries half that of an iron phosphate battery of equivalent capacity.
For any application that does not require high-rate discharge performance at cold temperatures and/or is not using the weight of the battery as ballast, there is no reason to not use iron phosphate over lead acid. It is simply lighter and more useable.
