Breakthrough material from LG Chem could prevent thermal runaway in batteries

[Shawn Knight]

Something to look forward to: LG Chem has developed an innovative thermal runaway suppression material that could greatly reduce the risk of fire in lithium-ion batteries. A leading cause of battery fires, thermal runaway occurs when the anode and cathode inside a battery unintentionally come into contact with each other. The interaction causes a short circuit and generates an immense amount of heat, often resulting in fire.

Formally referred to as a Safety Reinforced Layer (SRL), the composite material measures just one micrometer thick – or about 1/100th the thickness of a human hair. It is designed to sit between the cathode layer and the current collector (an aluminum foil that functions as a pathway for electrons) in a battery and acts as a temperature-sensitive fuse.

When a battery's temperature rises above its normal operating range (usually between 90 degrees Celsius and 130 degrees Celsius), the SRL reacts and alters its molecular structure to suppress the flow of current. According to LG Chem, the material's electrical resistance increases by 5,000 ohms for every one degree Celsius increase in temperature. It is also reversible, meaning current can flow normally again once temperatures come back down.

In impact and penetration tests, batteries equipped with SRL were either able to prevent a fire outright or extinguish it shortly after flames first appeared, circumventing a thermal runaway event.

This is not the first attempt to use a temperature-responsive material in a battery for safety, but it may be the most successful. As LG Chem highlights, earlier methods resulted in reduced energy density and had slow reaction times.

The tech might even make it to market in the near future. LG Chem has already completed safety verification testing with mobile batteries and expects to do the same with large-capacity EV batteries in 2025.

Lee Jong-gu, CTO of LG Chem, said the material can be applied to mass production in a short period of time. "We will enhance safety technology to ensure customers can use electric vehicles with confidence and contribute to strengthening our competitiveness in the battery market."

A paper on the subject titled, "Thermal Runaway Prevention through Scalable Fabrication of Safety Reinforced Layer in Practical Li-ion Batteries," has been published in the journal Nature Communications.

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Breakthrough material from LG Chem could prevent thermal runaway in batteries

 

[VitalyT]

We need to get rid of lithium-ion batteries altogether, they are volatile and toxic.

 

[DanteSmith]

We need to get rid of lithium-ion batteries altogether, they are volatile and toxic.

The amount of lithium used in batteries is insufficient to significantly impact stability. The true danger stems from the electrolyte; highly flammable solvents.

LFP and LTO are still Lithium-based but much safer.

 

[opckieran]

Holy crap, a battery innovation that won’t take 7-10 years to make it to market!

 

[kiwigraeme]

Lithium is here to stay for quite awhile. My wife bought a new battery for an old Dell laptop and was struggling to replace it, so asked me. I could see why slider was hard to move as battery had swollen and the plastic was crack and fractured in a few places ! here's me unplugging my ebike charger when leaving the house.
So just be aware, not everyone knows the signs

Good to see LG follows NZ nomenclature: North Island , South Island . LG Chem , LG Display

 

[Vanderlinde]

Too little too late. There's so much tech out there and not just cars on lithium ion but also user devices, phones and a ton of other things as well. Yes they pack more energy, which means bigger applications and such, but the tradeoff is extremely dangerous fires that either set your whole garage or house on fire or cause massive damage because one fire lighted up the other just like that.

Instead of trying to prevent all the above; start using a tech that is resistant against thermal runaway, can be punctured and so on. If anyone has stuff from china like a fat bike or whatever, always charge it outside, or at least in a closed space in where you must expect that the thing will catch fire one day. You do that to minimize damage done by it.

 

[Uncle Al]

This was invented by an entirely different company almost 8 years ago but the makers would not pay for it .... had that happened we probably would not have seen the salt-based battery along with so many other improvements .....

 

[ZedRM]

Lithium is here to stay for quite awhile.

No, it is not. Replacements that are safer, less expensive, easier to make, have high capacity & durability and are made of much more common elements are in the works now and are coming soon to a store, device or vehicle near you. Lithium is on it's way out currently and within the next 10 years will likely be gone from the market.

 

[A Tabby Person]

No, it is not. Replacements that are safer, less expensive, easier to make, have high capacity & durability and are made of much more common elements are in the works now and are coming soon to a store, device or vehicle near you. Lithium is on it's way out currently and within the next 10 years will likely be gone from the market.

Until the LONG-promised Li replacements ship at scale they are Vaporware. They’d be great to have, want them to succeed, but until they arrive, ss batteries etc al are wishful thinking.

 

[kiwigraeme]

No, it is not. Replacements that are safer, less expensive, easier to make, have high capacity & durability and are made of much more common elements are in the works now and are coming soon to a store, device or vehicle near you. Lithium is on it's way out currently and within the next 10 years will likely be gone from the market.

Well hope so, but there is shed load of perfectly good lithium devices out there at moment, so not sure how control software in devices etc ( especially those with no way to update, will take new batteries. Will be just an excuse to bring new models to market. portable drills etc got real cheap ( manganese hydrides ?? ) at end of life cycle, so picked up some with extra batteries for few bucks. But new safe cheap tech for lawnmowers, ebikes, trimmers etc will be good. Plus off the grid options will be interesting as well as human carrying quadcopters for reasonable price.
Given that shavers, toothbrushes, std lithium AA batteries etc are probably very safe , as not high draw, tightly constrained etc
With increased efficiencies, better insulated buildings, plus say fire/butane/lpg stove you could have most modcons with low energy use. probably refrigerator the biggest user

 

[jeffbert]

Too bad that very expensive Mercedes (that burst into flames), featured on this site a few weeks ago, did not have something like this. You get what you pay for.