What Powers You? Klas Engström & Batteries for LoRaWAN - Nichicon

Klas Engström, Sales Director at Nichicon, talks about how power architecture decisions quietly determine whether IoT deployments succeed or fail at scale. Drawing on more than a decade at Nichicon, Klas explains why batteries are often treated as an afterthought in device design, and why that mindset breaks down once LoRaWAN devices move from prototypes to real-world, long-life deployments.

The conversation centers on lithium titanate oxide (LTO) batteries and where they fit between supercapacitors and conventional lithium-ion. Klas outlines three practical use cases where LTO excels: energy-harvesting systems that need continuous recharge with high pulse currents, hybrid designs that extend the lifetime of primary batteries by offloading power spikes, and applications where fast charge times enable entirely new duty cycles. Rather than positioning LTO as a universal replacement, he is clear about tradeoffs in capacity and cost, and why understanding current capability and lifetime behavior matters more than headline milliamp-hours.

Klas also discusses Nichicon’s work on self-charging batteries using indoor photovoltaic cells, demonstrating how LoRaWAN devices can remain energy-autonomous even at high spreading factors under typical indoor lighting. The episode explores cold-temperature performance, safety characteristics compared to other lithium chemistries, and why LTO can be charged and discharged safely at temperatures where most batteries fail.

Throughout the discussion, Klas emphasizes total cost of ownership, arguing that service visits and battery replacements often dwarf component costs in real deployments. For business leaders, engineers, and advanced builders alike, this episode reframes power as a strategic design decision rather than a line item on the bill of materials.

Links:

Klas on LinkedIn

Nichicon

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