SafeBatt – Science of Battery Safety

Whilst lithium-ion cell fires are rare, they can occur under various conditions of mechanical, thermal or electrical stress or abuse. As the use of lithium-ion batteries expands into automotive, stationary storage, aerospace and other sectors, there is a need to further decrease the risk associated with battery usage to enable the optimisation of safety systems.

The project seeks to improve the fundamental understanding of the root causes of cell failure and the mechanisms of failure propagation. Working closely with industry partners, a multi-scale approach is being taken, from the material to the cell and module scale. Whilst the nucleation of failure may be a microscopic event, the propagation of failure, in particular cell-to-cell propagation, is macroscopic. Research spans time frames from the degradation of materials over hundreds of charging cycles, down to the nucleation and propagation of thermal runaway with characteristically sub-second events.

The project is also developing an improved understanding of processes occurring during real-world failure, including the environmental consequences of lithium-ion battery fires, which will inform the further development of fire sensing and protection systems for lithium-ion battery energy storage systems and help inform first responders.