24M has unveiled new testing data for its transformative battery separator, Impervio, which addresses the growing concern of battery safety for electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage systems (ESS). The new data coincides with mounting concerns after recent battery fires in the United States and internationally.
Click here for a video of the side-by-side comparison.
Impervio, announced in January 2024, in addition to its other benefits, addresses the safety risk of overcharging. Overcharging is when a battery exceeds its safe charging threshold yet continues to charge and overheats, which can cause fires.
Overcharging can lead to dendrite formation and an internal short, which can result in a battery fire and/or explosion. Impervio obstructs dendrite propagation, by controlling the cell at the individual electrode level, preventing dendrites from propagating and enabling early fault detection.
The technology can prevent thermal runaway by monitoring the cell’s electrochemistry and enabling the implementation of a failsafe in the event of a potential short.
In new testing conducted at 24M labs, the company compared performance and safety between two different battery pouch cells — a 10Ah high nickel NMC/Graphite pouch cell with an Impervio separator and another off-the-shelf nickel NMC graphite pouch cell with a conventional separator.
Both cells were brought to a fully charged state and then advanced to 100% overcapacity or twice the manufacturers specified maximum voltage. The cells with Impervio demonstrated reliable performance without shorting or overheating with a full hour of overcharge. In contrast, the off-the-shelf cells overheated consistently with dendrite-caused micro shorts occurring after 15 minutes of overcharging and the cell exploding into a massive fire after 38 minutes.
“Battery safety is a major roadblock to the widespread adoption of EVs,” said Naoki Ota, 24M president and CEO. “Recent EV fires around the globe have highlighted why new battery safety innovations are required. A sustainable energy future is only possible with innovations like Impervio, which can help prevent battery fires and create new opportunities for battery innovation.”
Filed Under: Batteries, Technology News