In the fields of portable electronic devices, electric vehicles and energy storage systems, lithium-ion batteries and lithium polymer batteries are two mainstream energy storage solutions. Although both use lithium as the core chemical carrier, there are significant differences in material structure, performance and application scenarios.

1. The essential difference between electrolyte morphology and structural design:
Lithium-ion batteries use a liquid electrolyte system, and their positive and negative electrode materials achieve ion conduction through lithium salts immersed in organic solvents. The typical structure includes multi-layer wound electrode sheets and metal shell packaging. This design gives it high structural stability, but also limits the freedom of shape. In contrast, lithium polymer batteries use solid or gel polymer electrolytes instead of traditional liquid electrolytes, and the electrode layers and diaphragms can be stacked in a planar manner through a lamination process.

2. Performance game between energy density and power output:
In terms of energy density, lithium polymer batteries have improved their energy density per unit volume by about 10%-15% compared with traditional lithium ion batteries by optimizing electrode composite materials and packaging processes. This is mainly due to the higher tolerance of polymer systems to active substances and more compact internal space utilization.

3. Safety mechanism and thermal runaway prevention:
Safety is the core consideration of the evolution of battery technology. The solid electrolyte system of lithium polymer batteries significantly reduces the risk of electrolyte leakage, and its aluminum-plastic film soft packaging structure is more likely to achieve pressure release through local bulging when mechanically damaged, rather than explosive rupture.

4. Manufacturing process and cost structure analysis:
In terms of production process, the winding process and automated production line of lithium-ion batteries are highly mature, and the scale effect keeps their unit cost at a low level. However, the stacking process of lithium polymer batteries requires higher precision, and the stacking alignment error needs to be controlled within ±0.1mm, resulting in technical bottlenecks in improving the yield rate.

5. Application scenarios and market positioning:
Lithium-ion batteries dominate the electric vehicle power battery market with their mature industrial chain and cost advantages. Their standardized sizes (such as 18650, 21700) and modular design facilitate large-scale integration and cascade utilization. Lithium polymer batteries dominate the consumer electronics sector.