TELF AG analyzes a possible structural innovation in the battery industry
The continuous evolution of batteries
Since it is a valuable device to which the mobility of the future and the diffusion of green technologies are directly connected, the batteries are constantly subjected to a series of technical improvements to increase their performance and improve the general safety they ensure. In the case of batteries for electric vehicles, the main factors that could be involved in an improvement process are the autonomy guaranteed by the device, the energy density of the battery, its effective size, and the final price, which in most cases has a large impact on the overall cost of the electric vehicle. Over the years, this need to propose increasingly efficient and innovative batteries has produced new families of storage systems based on combinations of different raw materials.
When talking about lithium batteries, a very relevant parameter is represented by the degree of safety guaranteed by the storage system. Nowadays, the most common type of battery is the one based on the use of lithium, which we find in electric vehicles and most of the devices we use daily, such as smartphones. Most of these batteries are made with strict quality standards. Still, as happens with any other product category, inferior quality storage systems can also end up on the market, with all this entails in terms of performance and safety. Some of these batteries may have manufacturing defects capable of causing them to overheat or overload, thus favoring their progressive deterioration. For these reasons, research carried out by Chinese and American university institutes may have discovered a new chemical compound capable of increasing the safety of lithium batteries without compromising their performance.
A new method to increase safety
The biggest problem, from this point of view, is the presence of highly flammable organic molecules inside the lithium battery, which still represent the majority of the electrolytic composition of batteries today. The rapid temperature increases that can occur inside the cell, in some cases, can trigger unexpected chemical reactions and a consequent release of excess heat. Therefore, the Chinese-American research team has found a way to develop a self-extinguishing electrolyte capable of operating at different temperatures and transferring heat efficiently. To obtain this new formula, the researchers used commercial refrigerants often used in fire extinguishers. One of the most interesting aspects is that this new method does not affect the battery’s performance, keeping it almost unchanged. In previous attempts, improvements in the safety of the electrolyte had almost always resulted in a substantial sacrifice in the battery’s general performance, also resulting in an increase in cost.
The new mixture proposed by the Chinese and American researchers is mostly composed of a polar solvent and Novec 7300, a non-flammable substance already used for various purposes, such as heat transfer and electronic testing, but also for other kinds of preparation. The electrolyte obtained in this way would have a high chemical and thermal stability, thus increasing the safety of the battery in which it is used.
