SBIR Phase I: Development of Safe, Energy Dense, High Performance Lithium Ion Batteries

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is the ability to detect and prevent fires in lithium-ion batteries. Lithium-ion batteries have become the preferred mode of energy storage and reuse in numerous applications ranging from mobile phones to aircraft. The low safety of current Li-ion batteries has led to a number of accidents in various applications ranging from computers to electric vehicles and aircraft. Excessive heat release from one cell can compromise the safety of the entire battery pack and the host system. By eliminating the potential for fires in each cell, the proposed technology will enable the construction of larger format cells to reduce the battery integration costs. Improved safety also will usher in the move towards higher energy density cells and open new applications that can benefit from Li-ion batteries. The projects potential societal impacts include significant revenues if successful, increased safety and even lives saved, increased penetration of energy storage and associated environmental impacts. This SBIR Phase I project proposes to develop an innovative technology to improve the safety of Li-ion batteries and prevent fire due to manufacturing defects, abuse and abnormal use. In today's batteries, these failures trigger exothermic reactions that can transition into uncontrolled thermal runaway. The resulting fires have impacted the safety of various systems ranging in scale from small (mobile phones and computers) to very large (aircraft). The objective of this effort is to develop a technology embedded in a compact sleeve that slides over the cells in a battery pack to passively detect the conditions and isolate the failing cells to prevent their thermal runaway. The Phase I research consists of designing the safety sleeves for select Li-ion battery chemistries and geometries, then demonstrating their effectiveness in detecting and preventing thermal runaway in both individual cells and in battery packs. The results from Phase I research will be used to design prototype sleeves for additional battery sizes, shapes and chemistries that will be tested further in Phase II. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.