The ever-increasing demand for electrical energy storage technologies triggered by the demands for consumer electronics, stationary energy storage systems and especially the rapidly growing market of electro mobility boosts the need for cost-effective, highly efficient and highly performant rechargeable battery systems. After the successful implementation of lithium ion batteries (LIBs) in consumer electronics and electric vehicles, there is still a ne. The ever-increasing demand for electrical energy storage technologies triggered by the demands for consumer electronics, stationary energy storage systems and especially the rapidly growing market of electro mobility boosts the need for cost-effective, highly efficient and highly performant rechargeable battery systems. After the successful implementation of lithium ion batteries (LIBs) in consumer electronics and electric vehicles, there is still a need for further improvements in terms of energy and power densities, safety, cost and lifetime. In the last decades, a large battery research community has evolved, developing all kinds of new battery materials, e.g., positive and negative electrode active materials for different cell chemistries, electrolytes, related auxiliary (inactive) materials and their constituents.Different battery cell setups, including so-called “half-cell”, “symmetrical-cell” and “full-cell” setups as well as two-electrode or three-electrode configurations, are described in the literature to be used in the laboratory for the electrochemical characterization of battery components like electrode materials and electrolytes. Typically, all cell setups display certain limitations or issues concerning their application for the parameter determination of battery materials. In this review article, we highlight the advantages but also the limitations of different cell setups, with special focus on two- and three-electro. The integration of clean renewable energy generation in combination with highly efficient and performant energy storage technologies is one of the major targets of the present energy economy. Currently, rechargeable batteries are widely seen as one of the most efficient and feasible storage solutions for specific application purposes, especially for mobile applications. The need for improved batteries is particularly boosted by the rapidly growing markets for electro mobility, industrial batteries, etc.,. Nowadays, the lithium ion battery (LIB) technology is the most dominant technology for a variety of applications, which particularly include portable electronic devices, industrial applications, power tools, electric-powered bikes, scooters and automotives as well as grid (home) storage,,,. As depending on the type of application, there is a different prioritization of key performance indicators, i.e., of energy, power, lifetime, sustainability, etc., various material combinations for battery cell application have been investigated in the past and will be pursued in the future,,.Emerging battery technologies (e.g., lithium-sulfur (S ‖ Li), lithium-oxygen (O2 ‖ Li), etc.) often promise a very high theoretical energy per volume or mass, however, these energy values often exclude numerous relevant parameters for practical battery cells, such as the practical mass utilization of the active mater. Different cell setups used in battery research, namely half-cell setups, symmetrical-cell setups and full-cell setups, as well as the major differences between two-electrode and three-electrode configurations, are briefly introduced and discussed in this section. A schematical illustration of the different cell setups and configurations is given in Fig. 1. In this article, we mainly focus on the lithium ion battery (LIB) technology, however, the general definitions and conclusions can also be transferred to other battery systems, such as lithium metal batteries (LMBs),, sodium-ion batteries, dual-ion batteries, O2 ‖ metal- and S ‖ metal-batteries, etc.As like other battery cell systems, a classical LIB cell is composed of a negative electrode (N) and a positive electrode (P), which are mechanically separated by an electrolyte-wetted separator. This two-electrode configuration is typically termed as “full-cell setup” in battery research (as depicted in Fig. 1(d)), in which the cell voltage, defined as the difference of the potentials of P and N, is used to control the charge and discharge cut-off conditions during constant current charge/discharge cycling,. In various reports, N and P are commonly named as anode and cathode, respectively. However, this designation is only valid when the electrochemical cell is used as a galvanic cell in the discharge mode. In case of an electrolytic cell (=charge mode of the cell), P would b. Fundamental electrochemical investigations of the various LIB components, i.e., the negative and positive electrode materials or the electrolyte formulation, are typically performed within different cell setups (half-cell setup, symmetrical-cell setup, full-cell setup) in either two-electrode or three-electrode configuration. There is no clear and consequent notation of these different cell setups in the battery research community, and sometimes the terms are even incorrectly utilized, for example when the term “half-cell” is used for a Li metal-based full-cell. As a result of the inconsequent usage of terms and due to the fact that often insufficient information is given about the specifically used cell setup, cell configuration and potential or cell voltage control conditions, it is not only hard to understand but also difficult to accurately compare results of different studies. Even worse, in some reports a “wrong”, i.e., not suitable cell setup or configuration is chosen to address a certain scientific question, which may lead to misinterpretation of results.In this work, we present a guide how to choose the suitable and “right” cell setup, appropriate for the intended aim of the electrochemical study. Furthermore, we encourage researchers to use the correct terms and give a clear definition about their electrochemical cell setup and configuration, which is mandatory to avoid any misinterpretations. For half-cell setups in three-electro. The authors wish to thank the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) for funding this work in the projects “BenchBatt” (03XP0047A) and “Go3” (03ETE002D), respectively. We thank Andre Bar for his graphical support.
