Not really, in fact, lithium ion batteries have the easiest charging algorithm, constant current constant voltage. The battery is first charging at a constant current while the voltage rises, when the voltage reaches the limit, maintain that voltage and let current decline, when the current is low enough, cut power and charging is finished. Another key advantage of Li-ion is the easiness of measuring battery level. At a given %, the open circuit voltage (OCV) is determined, you can acquire a battery charge v. OCV curve.
Lead-Acid is worse, the OCV stays nearly the same but the less the % the higher the internal resistance. Charging Lead-Acid is the same CC-CV but it’s float charge voltage needs to be compensated by temperature, making it slightly difficult to charge than Li-ion.
NiMH and NiCd are harder, although the internal resistance stays the same, the discharge curve is very flat and they have higher self discharge rate. A smart algorithm such as -dv/dt or dT/dt is a requirement for fast charging. Slow charging is possible, just charge at 0.1C for 15 hours. These kinds of batteries dissipate excessive electricity as heat at 100% charging, as long as the battery isn’t overheating and the charging rate is low, overcharging won’t damage them.
The simple charging algorithm plus easy charge % detection makes Li-ion one of the most favorable battery chemistry for most devices. However, this is both a blessing and a curse.
The range anxiety is crippling, people want more than NiMH. Enter coulomb counting, the state-of-the-art technique for precise capacity and health measurements, only available on Li-ion. A 5000mAh battery will discharge from 100% to 0% if you draw 5000mAh and to charge from 0% to 100%, charge 5000mAh. If it’s worn down to 80% health, the same principle applies except the mAh has reduced to 4000. Coulomb counting makes it possible to measure capacity accurately with 1% error. However coulomb counting is NOT used for charging, CC-CV is the charging algorithm while coulomb counting is used to display battery %.
The curse is since the elections flow strictly, over charging or discharging can and will severely damage the battery. Lead-Acid has float charging, NiMH has recombination. Li-ion can’t be float charged. A minor error on voltage measurement can lead to catastrophic results like this.
So here’s my conclusion. The lack of coulomb counting is NOT the reason of battery fire as this is not a requirement of charging Li-ion battery. Li-ion charging is simple but mistakes are also unforgivable