Why GITT Is Important in Battery Material Research？
When people hear “battery testing,” it often sounds full of technical jargon.
But the GITT test—short for Galvanostatic Intermittent Titration Technique—is actually easy to grasp if we think about something familiar: how an athlete trains.
Let’s use this “running and resting” analogy to understand what GITT really does and why it matters in battery research.
1. What Is GITT? A “Run–Rest–Run” Test for Batteries
GITT stands for Galvanostatic Intermittent Titration Technique, which might sound intimidating, but it simply means:
you charge or discharge the battery for a short time, then stop and let it rest, and you repeat this process many times while recording voltage changes.
In simple steps:
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Apply a stable current to charge or discharge the battery for a short period (e.g., 10 minutes).
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Stop and let the battery “rest” until the voltage stabilizes.
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Start the next short charge or discharge pulse.
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Repeat dozens or even hundreds of times, recording how voltage changes during both the “running” and “resting” periods.
It’s just like how athletes train: run for a few minutes, take a short break, then continue.
Here, the battery is the “runner,” the resting time lets it recover, and researchers are the “coaches” watching how it performs over time.
2. Why Do We Let the Battery “Rest”?
You might wonder: why not just keep charging or discharging continuously?
Because when a battery is working, what’s happening inside is quite complex.
Inside the battery, lithium ions move back and forth between the positive and negative electrodes.
However, during fast charging, these ions don’t always move evenly—some parts of the material may get overloaded, or the electrolyte concentration may fluctuate.
This creates temporary effects that make the voltage readings inaccurate.
By pausing and allowing the battery to rest, those temporary imbalances disappear.
The ions redistribute evenly, and the voltage returns to its “true” value, just like a runner’s heart rate settling back after a sprint.
That “stable voltage” is what researchers need—it reflects the real electrochemical characteristics of the battery, not just short-term fluctuations.
3. What Does GITT Actually Measure?
GITT isn’t a factory test for finished batteries—it’s mainly used in research and material development to uncover how batteries really work inside.
Here’s what it helps measure:
(1) Lithium-ion Diffusion Coefficient – The “Running Speed”
The faster lithium ions move inside a material, the faster the battery can charge.
Using GITT, researchers calculate the diffusion coefficient, which represents the “speed” of ion movement.
Materials with higher diffusion coefficients are better for fast-charging batteries and improved cycle life.
(2) Reaction Stability – Whether the Battery Has “Mood Swings”
Some materials stay stable throughout charging and discharging, while others suddenly change structure—called phase transitions.
These sudden jumps in voltage can shorten the battery’s lifespan.
GITT helps detect these transitions early, allowing engineers to fine-tune materials for better stability.
(3) Comparing Different Materials – Finding the Strongest Candidate
When testing new materials—say, a new type of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) versus a traditional NCM cathode—GITT provides a fair “competition.”
Under identical test conditions, it reveals which material allows ions to move faster and react more steadily, helping researchers select the most promising chemistry.
4. The Role of GITT in Modern Battery Research
In short, GITT is like a health check for batteries—it helps scientists see how efficiently ions move, how stable the material reactions are, and whether the battery maintains performance over time.
It’s a key tool for developing faster-charging, longer-lasting, and safer batteries for everything from electric vehicles to energy storage systems.
5. How Our Testing Equipment Supports GITT
Performing GITT accurately requires precise control of current, voltage, timing, and data recording.
That’s where our equipment comes in.
The NRSLA SCT-12A-16CH Battery Testing System is designed for advanced battery R&D applications, offering:
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Ultra-stable current control for precise pulse charging/discharging.
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High sampling frequency to capture subtle voltage relaxation curves.
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Programmable pulse and rest intervals for fully automated GITT procedures.
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Multi-channel testing (up to 16 cells) for parallel experiments and material comparison.
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Integrated data logging for easy analysis of diffusion coefficients and reaction kinetics.
With these capabilities, researchers, universities, and battery manufacturers can perform GITT and other advanced tests—like cycle life, rate performance, and DCIR—using one versatile, high-precision system.
The GITT test helps us “see inside” a battery—how fast the ions move, how stable the reactions are, and how strong the materials perform.
With the LANGTIAN Lithium Battery Testing Equipment, you can conduct accurate, automated GITT tests and transform complex electrochemical data into real insights for your next-generation battery research.
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