EV Engineering News

KULR Technology to manufacture NREL-developed battery safety testing device

KULR Technology has reached an agreement with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to be the exclusive manufacturing and distribution partner for the patented Internal Short Circuit (ISC) device. The device, which was developed in 2015 by NREL and NASA researchers, creates cell failures in predictable conditions, allowing for improved research into safer battery technologies. The first shipments of the ISC and ISC trigger cells will begin in October 2018.

Previous lithium-ion cell testing methods such as mechanical (crush, nail penetration), thermal (heat to vent, thermal cycling) and electrical (overcharge, off-limits cycling) were all “not relevant to the latent-defect-induced field failure,” according to a 2015 NASA and NREL presentation.

KULR is working with University College London to watch failures in real time using synchrotron imaging, which helps battery manufacturers to develop new safety measures for battery systems. One promising solution discovered by NASA using the ISC is KULR Technology’s thermal runaway shield (TRS), a thin, lightweight heat shield that has been proven to stop thermal runaway by insulating lithium-ion cells adjacent to those experiencing failure, keeping their temperature low and stable during catastrophic events.

“The ISC is a major step towards making battery technologies safer,” said NREL Senior Energy Storage Engineer Matt Keyser. “For the first time, we could trigger cells to fail at a known location and time. We have been able to use synchrotron imaging to watch failures in real time which allows us to design solutions.”

 

Source: KULR Technology

 

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