Victron LiFePO4 Lithium Battery 12,8V 200Ah NG - BAT512120620

Victron LiFePO4 Lithium Battery 12,8V 200Ah NG - BAT512120620

The Victron LiFePO4 12.8V 200Ah NG lithium battery is a lithium iron phosphate battery, has an integrated shunt and has IP65 protection. It can be connected in series/parallel combination, in parallel or in series. A maximum of 50 batteries per BMS NG is allowed; the maximum energy storage of a system consisting of 50 200Ah batteries is 128kWh.

The shunt records the battery voltage, current and temperature and sends the data to the NG BMS, which evaluates the data to calculate certain parameters and set alarms. This data can be monitored via the VictronConnect App or with the use of a GX device and the Victron VRM portal.

This lithium battery belongs to Victron's NG (New Generation) series, which also consists of 25.6V and 51.2V batteries of different capacities.

Victron 12,8V 200Ah NG LiFePO4 Battery Specifications

• Rated voltage: 12,8 V
• Rated capacity at 25 °C: 200 Ah
• Rated energy at 25 °C: 2560 Wh
• Loss of capacity: <1 % per 100 cycles, at 25 °C, with a depth of discharge of 100 % of usable capacity.
• Energy loss: <1 % per 100 cycles, at 25 °C, with a depth of discharge of 100 % of usable capacity.
• Full cycle efficiency: 92 %
• Battery connections: Screws M8 (For cables with 8mm round cable lug)
• Cycle life (capacity ≥ 80 % of nominal):
  • 80 % discharge: 2500 cycles
  • 70 % discharge: 3000 cycles
  • 50 % discharge: 5000 cycles
• Internal self-discharge: less than 3 % per month at 25 °C temperature.
• Dimensions: 235 x 341 x 160 mm
• Weight: 19 Kg

Carrying capacity

• Charging voltage: 14.00V - 14.4V
• Floating tension: 13,5 V
• Maximum continuous load current: 200 A (1C)
• Maximum load current per 10s intervals: 400 A (2C)

Discharge capacity

• Maximum continuous discharge current: 200A (1C)
• Maximum discharge current per 10s intervals: 400 A (2C)
• Voltage at the end of the discharge: 11.2 V (Minimum battery voltage).
• Internal resistance: 1 mΩ

Working conditions of the lithium battery 12,8V 200Ah NG

• Working temperature:
  • Discharge: From -20 °C to +50 °C
  • Load: +5 °C to +50 °C
• Storage temperature: From -45 °C to +70 °C
• Humidity (non-condensing): Max. 95 %
• Protection class: IP65

General aspects to be taken into account

• Specific BMS for the NG battery series: A BMS compatible with the new NG series, such as the Lynx Smart BMS NG 500 A or Lynx Smart BMS NG 1000 A, must be used. These NG BMSs must be purchased separately from the battery.
• Battery BMS interface: Male + female cable with circular M8 connector with high speed digital communication and 50 cm length.
• Separate measurements of each cell: Individual cell voltages and temperatures in addition to battery current.
• Bluetooth: NG lithium batteries do not have Bluetooth because it is built into the NG series BMS.
• Battery firmware updates: The firmware is automatically updated by the BMS NG.
• Maximum number of batteries per BMS NG: 50 units (Total 384 kWh).
• Repairable: Yes (cover can be removed with screws).
• Safety standards:
  • Cells: UL1973, UL9540A , IEC62619.

Installation and assembly of NG LiFePO4 12,8V 200Ah battery

The following image shows the dimensions of the Victron 12,8V 200Ah NG battery:

Victron 12,8V 200Ah NG battery mount:

• It can be mounted vertically or on its side, but never with the terminals facing downwards.
  • Two optionsis for fixation: straps or mounting brackets.
  • Mounting brackets secure the battery so that it cannot slide or tip over.
• Install indoors and in a dry place.
• The use of handling equipment is recommended for transport, as it weighs 19Kg.
• A space of 2 cm should be left around the battery to allow for ventilation (the battery heats up during charging and discharging).
• Pay attention to the polarity when connecting the terminals. The screws are tightened with a torque of 10 Nm, using a tool suitable for the size of the screw. The picture below indicates the order in which the wires are to be connected:

• The installation of an NG BMS is mandatory: Lynx Smart BMS NG 500 A or Lynx Smart BMS NG 1000 A (sold separately).
  • The BMS manages all battery parameters. It detects the system voltage and the number of batteries connected in parallel, in series and in series/parallel combination.
• To monitor the system you need the BMS NG and the VictronConnect App or a GX device and the VictronConnect App. Victron VRM portal.

Connection of the BMS NG to the Victron LiFePO4 battery 200Ah NG

• All NG batteries have two cables to communicate with the NG BMS. One has a male and one has a female connector, both with three poles. Depending on the battery model, the BMS NG cables can be located on either side of the battery or on the same side.
  • The BMS lithium battery cables are 50cm long, they can be extended with BMS NG extension cables.
  • With a single NG battery, the cables are connected directly to the NG BMS.
  • In systems with more than one battery, all BMS cables are daisy-chained and the first and last cable goes to the BMS NG.

Fuses and Cable cross-section for installation of LiFePO4 12,8V 200Ah NG batteries

All batteries must have a fuse suitable for the size of the battery cable. And the battery cables must be sized to withstand the maximum current expected in the system.

For more information on sizing, see the Victron guide. "Wired without limits". You can also install the Victron Toolkit App and calculate the cable cross-section you need.

Cable recommendations to be used for a distance of 2m between inverter and battery:

• For this 12.8V 200A/h lithium battery: minimum cross-section 70mm.

Insert the fuses

Parallel connection:

• Up to 50 lithium batteries can be connected.
• The fuses must be placed on the positive side of each lithium battery.
• The cables of the DC system are connected diagonally.
• The cable cross-section of the system shall be equal to the cable cross-section of the chain multiplied by the number of chains.
  • There are as many strings as the number of batteries in parallel.
• The fuse is placed in the main positive cable leading to the battery bank.

Serial connection:

• Up to four 12.8 V batteries or two 25.6 V batteries can be connected in series. For a total of 51.2 V.
• Batteries must be charged and balanced individually before connecting them in series.
• The negative is connected to the positive of the next battery.
• The fuse is placed in the positive part of the chain.

Serial/parallel combination connection:

• Up to 50 lithium batteries can be connected per BMS NG.
• Before connection, each battery must be fully charged and individually balanced.
• The fuses are placed on the positive side.
• Do not interconnect the midpoints with each other or connect anything else to them.
• The system cables are connected diagonally.
• The cable cross-section of the system shall be equal to the cable cross-section of the chain multiplied by the number of chains.
• The fuse is placed in the main positive cable leading to the battery bank.

Charger settings 

• • Absorption voltage: 14.2 V.
  • Float voltage: 13.5 V.
  • Absorption time: 2 hours.
  • More information in the section "First charge of the lithium battery".

Use the checklist in the manual (link at the end of the sheet) to check that all connections and wiring of the system have been done correctly.

Example of NG battery installation

This picture shows an example of a typical system installation of an NG battery and an NG BMS:

This installation is composed of:

• One charger and one charge.
• Solar panels.
• Victron NG lithium battery.
• Lynx Smart BMS NG 500 A.
• Lynx Class-T power in (M10).
• Lynx Distributor (M10).
• Smart Solar MPPT charge controller.
• Inverter Multiplus II.
• Cerbo GX MK2 monitoring
• VictronConnect App.

Materials required for the installation of the 12,8V 200Ah NG battery

• The BMS NG is mandatory:
  • Lynx Smart BMS 500 NG (M10) Victron - LYN034160310
  • Lynx Smart BMS 1000 NG (M10) Victron - LYN034170310
  • If necessary, 1m, 3m or 5m extensions can be purchased for the BMS cables: Victron cable with 3-pole male/female M8 circular connector 3m - ASS030560300
• The installation can be monitored through the VictronConnect App  with the Bluetooth connection of the BMS NG or with the Victron VRM portal. A GX device is required to use the portal: Victron Cerbo GX MK2 Monitoring - BPP900451100.
• A screen can also be added to the installation: Monitoring Victron GX Touch 50 - BPP900455050. To see the values in real time without the need to connect to anything.
• Having a Cerbo GX installed gives the possibility to monitor the installation from anywhere and at any time with the VRM portal. The VictronConnect App is limited to the Bluetooth range of the BMS NG and the app must be open as it does not run in the background.

First charge of the LiFePO4 battery

Not all batteries have the same state of charge at the time of installation due to conditions during transport, storage, and because they come from the factory with a charge of approximately 50%.

To connect batteries in series, they must first be charged separately with a charger or a dedicated inverter/charger with a BMS; due to the large differences in the state of charge between the batteries. These differences are not the same as imbalances between the cell voltages of a battery. This is because the cell balancing circuits of one battery cannot affect the cells of another battery.

If they are connected in parallel, it is not necessary to charge them before connecting them as they can be charged as a unit.

Loading process:

• First you have to configure the charging profile in the charger with the recommended settings:
  • It must be a 12V charger and must have a profile for charging LiFePO4 batteries or allow a custom profile to be made.
  • Absorption voltage: 14,2 V.
  • Absorption time:
    • Between 4 and 8 hours per month for systems with high usage (stand-alone or ESS type).
    • Minimum 2 hours per month for systems with little operation, such as auxiliary applications or UPS.
  • Floating tension: 13,5 V.
  • Values that not all chargers have:
    • Storage mode: same value as the buoyancy stress.
    • Initial charging voltage: same value as the absorption voltage.
  • No temperature compensated charging is required for lithium batteries. Set to: 0mV/°C.
  • A charging current of 0.5C is recommended. In the case of a 200 Ah lithium battery, the charging current would be 100 A.
• The battery, the BMS NG and the charger must communicate with each other. To check this, disconnect one of the cables from the battery to the BMS NG and see if the charger switches off. When you reconnect the cable, the charger should turn on.
• Turn on the charger and check that it charges the battery.
  • If, during charging, there is any imbalance between the battery cells, it is possible that the BMS NG will repeatedly switch the charger off and on. This will be repeated until
    that the cells are balanced and the charger will not switch off until the battery is fully charged.
• The battery is fully charged when the battery charger has reached the float state and the cells are in the "balanced" state. If the state of the cells is "unknown" or "unbalanced", the battery charger will restart several times until it is "balanced".

Battery management system (BMS NG)

When the BMS NG firmware is updated, the battery firmware is also automatically updated. This can be done via the VRM Portal or the VictronConnect App. The App must be updated to have the latest firmware version available.

Functions performed by the BMS NG:

The BMS NG has two ways of controlling loads and chargers:

• Sending an electrical or digital on/off signal to the charger or load.
• By physically connecting or disconnecting a load or charging source from the battery. Directly or by using a BatteryProtect or a Cyrix Li-ion relay.

The Lynx Smart BMS NG is used in systems containing DC loads and AC loads via inverters or inverter/chargers. This BMS NG is equipped with a contactor that disconnects the DC system, a "load process disconnect", a "load disconnect", a "pre-alarm" contact and a battery monitor. It can also be connected to a GX device and Victron Energy compatible control equipment via DVCC.

• In case of low cell voltage, the BMS NG will send a "load disconnect" signal to switch off the load(s).
• Before shutting down a load, it will send a pre-alarm signal indicating impending low cell voltage.
• In case of high cell voltage or low or high battery temperature, the BMS NG will send a "load disconnect" signal to switch off the charger(s).
• If the batteries are further discharged (or overcharged), the contactor will open, effectively disconnecting the DC system to protect the batteries.

Operating conditions

• Charging should be done in a range of +5°C to +50°C:
  • If the temperature is less than or equal to 15 °C: the charging current must be reduced to a maximum of 0.3C.
  • If the temperature is higher than 35 °C: the load current must also be reduced.
• The discharge must be made from -20 °C to +50 °C:
  • If the temperature is 0°C or below: the discharge current must be reduced to 0.5C.
  • If the temperature is higher than 35 °C: the discharge current must also be reduced.

Victron NG LiFePO4 Battery Maintenance

• Total discharge should be avoided.
• Prevent the system from shutting down when the BMS NG pre-alarm is triggered.
• If the BMS NG deactivates the loads, the batteries must be recharged immediately. The batteries should spend as little time as possible in a deeply discharged state.
• Do not interrupt the charging process until the status is "balanced" for all batteries in the system.
• If the system is not to be used for a period of time, the batteries must be left charged and the DC system must be disconnected.

Battery storage

• Avoid direct sunlight, high humidity and high temperatures.
• Store in a cool (+25 ±5°C) and ventilated place.
• Leave an adequate distance between the walls and the coil to ensure proper ventilation.
• Store lithium batteries in plastic or non-conductive trays.
• In case of long-term storage:
  • Never store upside down.
  • Charge the battery at 40-60 % initially and check the open circuit voltage monthly.
  • Charge immediately if the voltage drops below 3.0 V/cell.
  • A charge is required every six months.

Victron LiFePO4 Lithium Battery 12,8V 200Ah NG - BAT512120620 manual and datasheet

In case you still have any doubts, here you have the manual and the technical data sheet of this LiFePO4 lithium battery:

Manual lithium battery LiFePO4 Victron 12,8V 200Ah NG - BAT512120620

Datasheet lithium battery LiFePO4 Victron 12,8V 200Ah NG - BAT512120620