This paper illustrates the application of dynamic optimization in obtaining the optimal current profile for charging a lithium-ion battery by restricting the intercalation-induced stresses to a pre-determined limit estimated using a pseudo 2-dimensional (P2D). model. This paper focuses on the problem of maximizing the charge stored in a given time while restricting capacity fade due to intercalation-induced stresses. Conventional charging profiles for lithium-ion batteries (e.g., constant current followed by constant voltage or CC-CV) are not derived by considering capacity fade mechanisms, which are not only inefficient in terms of life-time usage of the batteries but are also slower by not taking into account the changing dynamics of the system. (C) The Author(s) 2014. Published by ECS. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 4.0 License (CC BY-NC-ND, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is not changed in any way and is properly cited. For permission for commercial reuse, please email: [email protected]. All rights reserved.