FLEX is coming out with new cordless power tool battery technology – a STACKED Lithium battery pack that will be compatible with their 24V Max platform.
When Flex introduced their new line of pro-grade 24V Max cordless power tools earlier this year, they hit the ground running, launching a broad selection of high-performance and premium-featured tools.
Full details are not yet available, but I thought readers might appreciate an early look.
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Even at the start, Flex advertised that their cordless power tool battery tech delivers 20% more power, 25% longer runtime, and up to 50% faster charging.
In fact, Flex says that their 24V Max platform can deliver power that’s up to 20% higher than anything you’ve experienced.
Flex is currently a ToolGuyd sponsor, and we have had a media relationship with their parent company for over 10 years now. From what I have seen over the years, Flex’s product managers and engineers are very experienced – and successful – at developing new cordless power tool technologies and innovations.
Now, what do you think is going to happen when Flex comes out with this new STACKED LITHIUM cordless power tool battery?
You might be asking why is this important? Here are some of the advertised benefits of pouch-style stacked Lithium battery packs compared to traditional Lithium batteries:
- Faster charging
- Longer life
- More power
It’s not just about the battery cell form factor, but also the power tool battery tech and experience that Flex brings to the table.
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Power IQ will feature intelligent power management to enable higher discharging for unrivaled power.
Therma-Tech+ Heat Management will help keep the batteries run cooler under load.
The “Flex Stacked Lithium Advantage” is said to outperform lithium, unleashing power that changes everything.
Flex is not the only cordless power tool brand to be working on pouch-style battery packs – Dewalt recently launched a new 20V Max PowerStack battery.
Different brands can utilize the similar battery cell form factors and technologies in different ways. Flex’s new tech promises to unleash power that changes everything, and this hints at what they are hoping to accomplish.
Will Flex’s new Stacked Lithium battery deliver “power that changes everything?”
Seeing as how Flex’s sibling company – EGO – had a big hand in reshaping the entire modern cordless outdoor power tool industry, I think that the next couple of months are going to be very exciting.
I cannot wait to see what Flex’s new battery tech can do, or what kinds of further cordless power tool innovations it will pave the road for.
Jared
Seems like the whole industry might be leaning this direction. It will be very interesting to see what develops.
Faster charging and more burst power in a smaller battery pack seems like it won’t JUST make things smaller and lighter – but might also unlock new potential tool development. I.e. akin to what high-capacity lithium cells have done for OPE.
Any guess for a tool this tech might make cordless that wasn’t before – or maybe a tool that is cordless but is awkward because of its size, weight or peak power draw?
Stuart
Long-term, I’m really not sure what this will unlock.
Consider the modern size and capabilities of modern laptops compared to laptops from a few years ago that featured 18650-sized battery cells.
Jared
I could definitely see this pairing well with developments on the mechanical-end of the tool.
E.g. the DCF899 is a great 1/2″ impact wrench, but ungodly heavy if you’re working at awkward angles or away from your body. The new DCF922 Atomic impact wrench is teeny-tiny in comparison and surprisingly powerful (albeit not in the same weight class).
As developments push the compact tools into greater performance levels, maybe these new-style batteries will allow the tool to shrink at both ends – rather than ending up with a tiny tool that must be mated to a large battery to achieve maximum performance.
On the other hand, I’m wondering if there’s something radically new this would unlock that I lack the imagination to think of.
Nailers have been cordless for awhile, for example, but they’re bulky compared to their pneumatic counterparts. Maybe this is prelude to making the whole tool smaller?
I don’t know… I just think I might be missing something.
Lance
I’m more interested in how this will affect Ego OPE than Flex. I want a compact 3Ah Ego battery that weighs less than the current 2Ah and has the guts to push their handheld 650CFM blower to its maximum power!
Couple these pouch cells with Ego’s phase-change cooling wrap and forced-air chargers and we could see some seriously powerful, lightweight and FAST charging batteries!
James Davis
I have all of the core Flex tools, as well as the flood light and radio. The largest battery I have is 5 amp hour. So, I am very interested to see where this goes.
O
So is FLEX … Dewalt’s less expensive copy?
Stuart
Why would you think that?
Stacey Jones
Does this mean they will stack in parallel for double capacity or series for double voltage? Or perhaps be user switchable? I’ve wondered why they haven’t done this for a long time…
Stuart
Series.
Doug
Capacity increases regardless of how you connect cells together. Wiring in series increases voltage, wiring in parallel increases current. The capacity of a battery is always just the sum of the capacity of the individual cells.
Corey Moore
I’m torn between years of “GAME CHANGING CORDLESS POWER!!!” marketing overuse, and the fact that Ego (and Flex thus far) have no bs to their credit yet. I remain interested.
Travis
This looks like an adaptation of RC style batteries to power tools.
Mike
Yep. I wasn’t surprised or impressed by either of these announcements about it. Like cool, been doing it for several years now.
Dave P
Most likely the engineers/designers told the English and journalism majors that work at their ad agency, “In certain applications at certain times these batteries may have a bit more power and in theory they might even last a bit longer. We took a look at some of the other brand’s rapid chargers and copied what we could, so now our chargers will be faster just like the competition. You guys do your magic and spin it in a way that sounds good and will sell more for us”.
The only people that can spin something more than a manufacturer/retailer are politicians and I trust neither.
Follow the money…
Nathan
It’s a safety factor thing. I’ve been wondering when these would hit the market for quite some time.
Heat – pouch cell fixes alot of the heat and thoughput issue you have with cells. So you can let them pull more amps for a longer period of time with less damage. Especially when you slip in cooling gel isolation. I’ve seen this in some industrial tools.
Same heat problem also means you can change the pouch pack that much faster too. goes both ways.
Voltage stability – they can also hold voltage or have more reserve capacity and better healing that a cell.
Overall it’s a benefit and once you agree that you aren’t re-working a broken or damage battery pack – then pouch cell makes alot of sense.
Mike
I’ve had laptop, camera, phone, and watch batteries ‘puff up’ – how are these cells different? Considering they’ll be used in much harsher environments, I’m not sold yet.
CoBlue
Are these using a polymer electrolyte like lithium polymer batteries? I know Dewalt has claimed that they are not using a polymer electrolyte but a liquid one.
Stuart
Since the battery hasn’t officially launched yet, they’re not quite ready to take technical questions like that, but I’ll be sure to keep it in mind to ask!