Fire protection of lightweight EV battery cases using nanotechnology (PFP_Nano)

COVID封城期间减少的公路和航空运输导致明显更清晰和更清洁的空气，并使许多人评估交通对我们呼吸的空气的影响。汽车、公共汽车、火车和飞机的电力推进支持向低排放运输的过渡。这些应用的首选电池是锂离子电池（LIB）。为了安全使用，电池组必须保持在规定的电压和温度范围内;损坏（事故、快速减速等）、外部温度过高、充电过快、过度充电或制造缺陷可能会超过限制。化学反应可能在内部触发，导致短路或温度升高，这可能导致热失控和LIB着火。因此，需要提供尽可能长时间的锂离子电池火灾遏制，以帮助汽车，船舶，铁路和航空航天领域的乘员疏散。大多数LIB外壳由金属（钢，铝）制成，为电池提供机械支撑。这些电池外壳通常很重;可以使用碳纤维增强聚合物（CFRP）制造更轻的版本，并且已经开发了几种原型CFRP电池外壳。然而，目前还没有将联合收割机的轻质CFRP结构电池壳与固有的防火性能相结合的解决方案。HIVE是一家以创新为基础的企业，致力于开发具有巨大增长和规模化潜力的颠覆性复合材料技术。Hive拥有一种基于碳纳米管（CNT）的解决方案，可以将其掺入树脂中和/或部署在结构CFRP的表面上，通过显着提高防火和导热性来赋予多功能性，同时保持结构性能。当涂覆在复合材料上时，初步试验表明，母体材料的点火时间增加了一倍。复合材料的导热性也将被修改，以更好地对电池进行热管理。在基质内或在复合材料电池壳的表面上的CNT材料的重量将为整个复合材料电池壳增加几克，但有机会使电池火灾的遏制时间加倍，从而以最小的重量和成本为居住者增加被动安全性。因此，与金属电池相比，使用复合材料电池盒将减轻电池组的整体重量。该项目将开发一种用于复合材料电池盒的 ** 具有成本效益的被动防火材料系统 **，该系统使用独特的碳纳米管（CNT）材料，并将生成数据来证明这些材料的性能，以便在多个运输部门实施。

The reduced road and air transport during the COVID lockdown resulted in visibly clearer and cleaner air and has made many assess the impact of transport on the air that we breathe. Electric propulsion for cars, buses, trains, and planes supports the **transition** to **lower emission** transport. The battery of choice for these applications are Lithium Ion Batteries (LIB). For safe use, the battery packs must be maintained within a defined voltage and temperature window; limits can be exceeded by damage (accidents, rapid deceleration etc), excessive external temperatures, charging too quickly, overcharging or manufacturing defects. Chemical reactions may be triggered internally leading to a short circuit or increase in the temperature which can lead to thermal runaway and the LIBs catching fire. Hence, there is a need to provide lithium ion battery fire containment for as long as possible to aid occupant evacuation in auto, marine, rail and aerospace sectors.Most LIB casings are made from metal (steel, aluminium) providing mechanical support to the cells. These battery casings are typically heavy; lighter versions can be made using carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (CFRP) and several prototype CFRP battery cases have been developed. However, there are no known solutions that combine lightweight CFRP structural battery cases with intrinsic fire containment.HIVE is an innovation-based business developing disruptive composite materials technologies with significant potential for growth and scale-up. Hive have a carbon-nanotube (CNT) based solution that can be incorporated into resins and/or deployed on the surface of structural CFRP to impart multi-functionality through significantly improved fire and thermal conductivity whilst maintaining structural performance. When coated on a composite material, preliminary tests have shown the time to ignition of the parent material is doubled. Thermal conductivity of the composite materials will also be modified for better thermal management of the batteries. The weight of the CNT materials either within the matrix or on the surface of the composite battery cases will add a few grammes to the overall composite battery case but has the opportunity to double the containment time for a battery fire, thereby adding passive safety for occupants at minimal weight and cost. Use of composite battery cases will therefore reduce overall battery pack weight compared with metallic versions.This project will develop a **cost-effective passive fire protection material system** for composite battery cases using a unique format of Carbon nanotube (CNT) materials and will generate the data to demonstrate the performance of these materials for implementation across multiple transport sectors.