Interesting. And that got me wondering about the how long the battery would last, lifetime-wise.
"1C" means the rate that fully charges or discharges the battery in one hour. Generally (and over-simplified), charging or discharging at greater than 1C rates will shorten the battery life...
The 1C limitation usually applies to cells meant for electronics, such as laptops, cell phones, etc... These cells are built to maximize capacity, in order to have a long run time. On the other hand, there are cells built differently for high-drain applications. The former is called "energy cell", while the latter is called "power cell".
An example of power cell is cells built for power tools. These can handle 20C, meaning you can safely draw enough power to deplete them in a mere 3 minutes. A 18650 cell (about 1-1/2 the size of an AA cell) can stand a current drawn of 30A. These cells have the disadvantage of having lower capacities, often only 1/2 to 2/3 the capacity of the energy cell. Moneywise, their retail price is about the same.
Another example of power cell is lithium cells used for RC planes or drones. You can get cells with drain capacity as high as 120C. With that ridiculous high drain, you can safely deplete the cell in 30 seconds. I don't know what applications would need such a burst of power.
If you use an energy cell as a power cell, the high drain will overheat them, and they may just blow up. Fires, explosions, injuries, and mayhem may occur, and it is best to avoid it.
On the other hand, there's no harm in using a power cell at a low drain. You just do not get the same capacity as an energy cell.
Another disadvantage of the power cell, other than a lower capacity is a shorter life. While an energy cell may last 500 cycles, a power cell may last only 100.
Back on the VW I.D. race car, depleting the battery in 10 minutes means a 6C drain rate. That's quite benign, compared to current cells used already in power tools and RC toys and drones.
) so YMMV.
