Low-cost magnetic imaging sensors for advanced battery monitoring

EV and EV cell manufacturers lost more than $2B in 2021 because of undetected torn tabs in EV cells. Todayĺs battery monitoring and screening technologies are based on voltage and temperature monitoring and thus are unable to detect specific manufacturing defects ôeconomicallyö. There is a need for a breakthrough screening technology to reduce future recalls, financial losses and battery fires. Parthian is proposing to develop and demonstrate an early warning system to detect latent battery defects, during manufacturing or operation, BEFORE any voltage or temperature abnormalities can be detected. This can mitigate damages due to unexpected range loss and potential fire incidents, while reducing the probability for expensive recalls. In Phase I, Parthian showed that its Caltech patented solution can economically and rapidly detect defective cells, a major breakthrough compared to the state of todayĺs battery screening or monitoring technologies. In Phase II, the team showed the world's 1st sensing technology that can detect lithium plating in a commercial 11 Ah cell. To our knowledge no other battery sensing technology can detect lithium plating in commercial cells without destroying the cell. In Phase IIB, Parthian, collaborating with NREL and LG, will finalize the minimum viable product that can be used by manufacturing engineers (cell or pack level), at least as an on-demand screening tool, to detect several major types of cell manufacturing or operational defects, such as internal short circuit and lithium plating. Future products will be directed to scanning a group of batteries in under a minute, enabling improved manufacturing Q.C., and improved in operational BMS.