Researchers at LG Chem, Korea’s largest chemical company, have developed a groundbreaking material that could revolutionize battery safety. This innovative solution, known as the Safety Reinforcement Layer (SRL), aims to suppress the risk of thermal runaway and resulting fires in batteries used in smartphones, electric vehicles, and other electronic devices. The team’s findings, published in Nature Communications, offer new hope for improved battery safety and reliability.
Solving the Problem of Thermal Runaway
Thermal runaway has plagued the battery industry for years, leading to fires in cellphones and electric vehicles. A battery in thermal runaway happens when the anode and cathode become too close together or even touch, resulting in a short circuit, heat generation, and of course eventually a fire.
LG Chem has a unique solution to this issue; it has developed a thin, conductive material that can be sandwiched between the cathode layer and collector. The material, called the Safety Reinforcement Layer (SRL), functions as a multi-purpose enhancing aspect and is particularly designed to be automatically permeated into just about all battery structures with less active materials. That makes the SRL a much more robust protection compared to electronic sensors, which can fail in high heat situations.
Putting the SRL to the Test
LG Chem’s researchers stressed the number of real road situations in which the SRL has been proven effective. An experiment involved hammering a nail into the battery, something that would normally lead to a fire. But when the SRL was installed, it prevented a fire or allowed it to be put out instantly. The team also applied a weighing scale to the battery — which is known to cause batteries to explode — with similar results.
The tests that I have performed show how the SRL can combat against Thermal runaway and the detrimental outcomes that follow. It retains good conductivity under normal operation, but its resistance escalates exponentially as heat rises, throttling the flow of current thereby saving the battery from overheating.
The Road to a Safer Battery
The SRL is a major breakthrough in battery safety that has the possibility to allay fears of lithium-ion batteries failing. The rise of electronic devices and electric vehicles around the world takes a stronger battery technology – we’ve never demanded more from out batteries.
LG Chem says that its team will now test the SRL on other types and sizes of batteries in addition to putting it through safety tests, with more announcements related to this technology coming available for battery manufacturers in the coming months. By incorporating the SRL into their products, manufacturers of batteries can assure their costumers that they know what is going on with that overwhelmed powerpack and considerably diminish the change for a dangerous blaze. The invention opens a route for a new class of safer, faster, longer cycling and more reliable batteries that is anticipated to quickly gain traction and benefit both individuals and the environment.
