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

小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第二阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是提高了锂(Li)离子电池(LIB)的安全性，适用于从割草机到飞机等电力密集型应用。LIB结构中使用的化学物质的性质，加上大量存储的能量，使得电池容易受到包括热失控和火灾在内的各种故障模式的影响。近年来，Lib火灾多次登上头条新闻，其中包括2012至2017年间400多种消费品发生的约25,000起火灾事件。目前的电池安全机制占电池总成本的5%-10%，但从不断发生的锂离子电池火灾中可以看出，这些机制是无效的。拟议中的技术提高了安全性，可能会拯救生命和财产，并帮助该行业转向价格更低、能量密度更高的电池。该SBIR第二阶段项目旨在开发和演示一种电池和化学不可知的设备，以防止锂离子电池和电池中的热失控。通过防止热失控，这项技术可能会提高LIBS的安全性，保护附近的生命和财产。第一阶段研究成功地证明了拟议的创新在遭受特定类型滥用的不同大小和化学成分的单个圆柱形细胞中的可行性。第二阶段的技术工作将扩大研究范围，以涵盖更多的电池化学成分、尺寸、格式和滥用情况，将建议的技术整合到商业电池组中，并进行测试以证明该安全技术有助于电池系统满足法规标准(例如针对Bess电池系统的UL 9540A)。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is improved safety of lithium (Li) ion batteries (LIBs) for power intensive applications ranging from lawnmowers to aircraft. The nature of chemicals used in LIB construction, combined with the large amount of stored energy, makes the batteries vulnerable to various failure modes including thermal runaway and fire. LIB fires have captured the headlines several times in recent years including ~25,000 fire incidents in more than 400 consumer products between 2012 and 2017. Current battery safety mechanisms contribute to 5 – 10% of the overall battery cost but are ineffective as evidenced by the continued occurrence of LIB fires. Improved safety with the proposed technology may save lives and property and help the industry migrate towards less expensive and more energy dense batteries. This SBIR Phase II project seeks to develop and demonstrate a cell- and chemistry-agnostic device to prevent thermal runaway in Li ion cells and batteries. By preventing thermal runaway, this technology may improve the safety of LIBs, protecting nearby lives and property. The Phase I research has successfully demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed innovation in individual cylindrical cells of various sizes and chemistries subjected to a specific type of abuse. The Phase II technical effort shall expand the research to cover additional cell chemistries, sizes, formats, and abuses, integrating the proposed technology into a commercial battery pack and performing tests to demonstrate that this safety technology helps battery systems meet regulatory standards (such as UL 9540A for BESS battery systems).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.