Engineering Stream

Battery Safety

Exploring Improved Methods to Achieve Increased Safety

March 27-28, 2018 | Fort Lauderdale Convention Center | Fort Lauderdale, Florida USA

As new high-power lithium-ion batteries continue to enter the market, it becomes increasingly important to ensure the safety of battery cells and battery packs. Battery regulations and safety testing must stay up to date with large R&D advancements. Regulatory agencies and associations, cell R&D engineers and reliability engineers must develop robust and reliable tests for the progressively complex cell and pack designs. Maintaining battery pack stability and mitigating thermal runaway to improve safety are vital to the success of batteries in the market.

Monday, March 26

7:00 am - 4:00 pm Tutorial and Training Seminar* Registration Open

7:00 - 8:00 am Morning Coffee

12:30 - 1:30 Enjoy Lunch on Your Own

1:30 - 2:00 Networking Refreshment Break

4:00 Close of Day

*Separate registration required for Tutorials and Training Seminar.

Tuesday, March 27

7:00 am Registration and Morning Coffee

8:10 Plenary Keynote Sessions: Organizer’s Opening Remarks

Craig Wohlers, Executive Director, Conferences, Cambridge EnerTech

8:15 How Does the Electrolyte Change during the Lifetime of a Li-Ion Cell?

Jeff Dahn, PhD, Professor, Canada Research Chair, NSERC/Tesla Canada Industrial Research Chair, Department of Chemistry, Dalhousie University

Jeff Dahn is recognized as one of the pioneering developers of the lithium-ion battery that is now used worldwide in laptop computers and cellphones. This presentation will examine how the electrolyte changes during the lifetime of the cell.

8:45 Uber Elevate - Powering an Electric UberAIR Future

Celina Mikolajczak, Director of Battery Development, Uber

Celina Mikolajczak will be speaking about the Uber Elevate initiative and sharing vision for how vertical take-off and landing vehicles will change the world, as well as the energy storage needs required to power UberAIR missions in the years ahead.

9:15 Networking Coffee Break

Regulatory Updates

9:45 Organizer’s Opening Remarks

Victoria Mosolgo, Conference Producer, Cambridge EnerTech

9:50 Chairperson’s Remarks

Cynthia Millsaps, President and CEO, Quality, Energy Assurance LLC

10:00 Regulatory Updates for Li-Ion Batteries Globally

Cynthia Millsaps, President and CEO, Quality, Energy Assurance LLC

Updates on all major global markets for lithium ion cells and batteries. Battery compliance is an ever-changing area and it can be challenging to keep up with all the new regulations and proposals going on globally. We will review the current major battery markets and what it takes to ship and cell products in these areas.

10:30 Safety Guidelines and Changes

Janet McLaughlin, Director, Hazardous Materials Safety Program, Federal Aviation Administration

The risks of lithium battery transportation in the supply chain can only be effectively managed through a systems approach. The risk must be identified and communicated prior to transportation beginning, and not dependent on the mode of transport. A shift in risk approach of this magnitude will require all the relevant stakeholders to work together to achieve success. This new system needs to be designed to take into consideration future risks, not only the current ones that are known today.

11:00 Understanding the Complexities of Shipping New, Refurbished, and Waste Lithium Batteries

George Kerchner, Executive Director, PRBA - The Rechargeable Battery Association

What happens when lithium batteries are disassembled and refurbished? Are they subject to the dangerous goods and hazardous waste regulations when transported? When lithium batteries reach the end of life and are shipped domestically and internationally as waste, what transport and hazardous waste regulations apply? Do they require a hazardous waste manifest when transported within or exported from the U.S., require an export permit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and consent from the country receiving the waste batteries?

11:30 Lithium-Ion Battery Thermal Management and Thermal Runway Propagation Mitigation Solutions with Carbon Fiber Technology

Michael Mo, CEO, KULR Technology Corporation

KULR Technology is a pioneer in thermal management technology with its proprietary carbon fiber technology that has been used by NASA, Boeing and JPL in over 500 aerospace and industrial applications. It will showcase its latest solutions to prevent lithium-ion battery thermal runaway propagation, testing for battery safety and thermal management of battery operations.

 11:45 High Power and Safe Li-metal Batteries Part I: The Mechanism of Li Metal Growth in Porous Structures

Slobodan Petrovic, PhD, CTO, XNRGI

Co-Author: Juergen Garche

Lithium metal batteries with liquid electrolytes are not safe because of dendrite growth. A new electrode structure consisting of porous silicon is shown to suppress dendrite growth, enabling high-power and safe battery. The results, supported by the study of reaction mechanisms, demonstrate excellent Coulombic efficiency and high volumetric energy density.

12:00 pm Networking Luncheon

12:55 Networking Refreshment Break

Transportation Safety

1:25 Chairperson’s Remarks

Chris Turner, CTO & Vice President, Inventus Powero

1:30 The Challenges of Shipping Damaged Batteries - Understanding the Transport Regulations to Facilitate Forensic Analysis and Product Recalls

Bob Richard, PhD, President, Consulting, Hazmat Safety Consulting

Regulators, airlines, aircraft manufacturers and pilots continue to express concerns relative to the safe transport of lithium batteries by air. These concerns continue to result in restrictions that impact supply chains. What risk mitigation solutions are available and how can shippers minimize supply chain impacts?

2:00 Sizing Cell Modules to Prevent Thermal Events in Medium and Large Format Systems; How to Prevent Costly Over-Design and Maintain Safety

Chris Turner, CTO & Vice President, Inventus Power

Inventus Power has analyzed construction and thermal mass characteristics in a study to show how the other cells in the module dissipate heat. Thresholds for the total absorption of heat are established, and a design approach is demonstrated for proper use of this method to improve thermal event resilience at module level in medium and large format battery systems.

2:30 Mitigating Risks with Battery Powered Consumer Products

Douglas Lee, Directorate for Engineering Sciences, U.S. Consumer for Product Safety Commission

3:00 Grand Opening Dessert Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

3:45 Combined Battery Calorimetry and Simulation for Prevention of Thermal Runaway and Increased Safety

Carlos Ziebert, PhD, Senior Scientist, Thermophysics & Thermodynamics Group, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

Battery calorimetry as a powerful and versatile electrochemical-thermal characterization technique will be presented under normal use together with safety tests under abuse and accident conditions (thermal abuse, nail penetration). It will be shown how the data (temperature, heat, internal pressure) gained from these experiments combined with multiscale modelling of the thermal runaway and advanced BMS diagnostics provide a powerful tool for the early prediction and prevention of the thermal runaway.

4:15 Thermal Propagation Testing within EV Battery Packs

Dean MacNeil, PhD, Research Officer, Energy Mining and Environment, National Research Council of Canada

We have developed a novel thermal runaway initiation method that permits the investigation of thermal propagation studies within a wide variety of battery packs using different cell choices and construction methods. It is minimally invasive, provides minimal external energy to the system and results in thermal runaway in less than 10 seconds. The use of this method within a number of EV battery pack designs will be shown.

4:45 Statistical Characterization 18650 Format Lithium Ion Cell Thermal Runaway Energy Distributions

William Walker, Heat Transfer Analyst, Thermal Design Branch, NASA Johnson Space Center

Effective thermal management systems, designed to handle the impacts of thermal runaway (TR) and to prevent cell-to-cell propagation, are key to safe operation of lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery assemblies. Critical factors for optimizing these systems include the total energy released during a single cell TR event and the fraction of the total energy that is released through the cell casing vs. through the ejecta material. A unique calorimeter was utilized to examine the TR behavior of a statistically significant number of 18650-format Li-ion cells with varying manufacturers, chemistries, and capacities. The calorimeter was designed to contain the TR energy in a format conducive to discerning the fractions of energy released through the cell casing vs. through the ejecta material. Other benefits of this calorimeter included the ability to rapidly test of large quantities of cells and the intentional minimization of secondary combustion effects. High energy (270 Wh kg-1) and moderate energy (200 Wh kg-1) 18650 cells were tested. Some of the cells had an imbedded short circuit (ISC) device installed to aid in the examination of TR mechanisms under more realistic conditions. Other variations included cells with bottom vent (BV) features and cells with thin casings (0.22 μm). After combining the data gathered with the calorimeter, a statistical approach was used to examine the probability of certain TR behavior, and the associated energy distributions, as a function of capacity, venting features, cell casing thickness and temperature.

5:15 Transition to Breakout Discussions

5:20 Interactive Breakout Discussion Groups

Participants choose a specific breakout discussion group to join. Each group has a moderator to ensure focused discussions around key issues within the topic. This format allows participants to meet potential collaborators, share examples from their work, vet ideas with peers, and be part of a group problem-solving endeavor. The discussions provide an informal exchange of ideas and are not meant to be a corporate or specific product discussion. Please click here for full details.

TABLE 1: Lessons Learned from the Samsung Galaxy Note7 Battery Safety Events

Shmuel De-Leon, CEO, Shmuel De-Leon Energy, Ltd.

TABLE 2: Need, Status, and Future Prospects of New Battery Materials

Maximilian Fichtner, PhD, Executive Director, Helmholtz Institute Ulm (HIU); Managing Director, Energy Storage Group, Institute of Nanotechnology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)

TABLE 3: Unmet Needs and Opportunities in Battery Diagnostics

Alexej Jerschow, PhD, Professor, Chemistry Department, New York University

TABLE 4: Silicon Anodes and Cells

Benjamin Park, PhD, Founder & CTO, Enevate

TABLE 5: High Energy Density and Improved Safety with Enhanced Current Collectors

Brian Morin, PhD, CEO, Soteria Battery Innovation Group

TABLE 6: Cell Manufacturing

Raf Goossens, PhD, CEO, Global Corporate Management, PEC

TABLE 7: What Do I Really Have to Do to Ship My Small Li-Ion Battery Globally?

Cynthia Millsaps, President and CEO, Energy Assurance LLC

TABLE 8: Preventing Costly Over-Design While Maintaining Safety

Chris Turner, CTO & Vice President, Inventus Power

TABLE 9: Consumer Product Safety

Douglas Lee, Directorate for Engineering Sciences, U.S. Consumer for Product Safety Commission

TABLE 10: SK Innovation’s use of IPR in SK Innovation v. Celgard

Grant M. Ehrlich, PhD, Partner, Cantor Colburn LLP.

TABLE 11: Electrolyte Developments: New Components and Approaches

Sam Jaffe, Managing Director, Cairn Energy Research Advisors

6:20 Welcome Reception in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing (Sponsorship Opportunity Available)

7:20 Close of Day

Wednesday, March 28

8:00 am Registration and Morning Coffee

Simulation and Testing

8:25 Chairperson’s Remarks

Andy Keates, Technology Manager, Intel Corporation

8:30 Testing Li-Metal Cells for Actual Usage Scenarios

Andy Keates, Technology Manager, Intel Corporation

We typically test Li-ion batteries for cycle life using a smooth charge and discharge. It’s simple and standard, but not at all representative of the way we actually treat the batteries in mobile computing. The divergence between these simple tests and reality will be exacerbated now that USB options for charging laptops have emerged. This can easily lead to many shallow charge cycles a minute and very frequent reversals in charge/discharge. Since a lack of understanding of usage modes can lead to product recalls in the past, let’s take a statistical look at what really happens to laptop batteries, to be able to include this in our test regimes.

9:00 Applications of Internal Short Circuit Detection and Examples of Early Implementations

Brian Barnett, PhD, Vice President, CAMX Power

Recent events have heightened awareness that internal short circuits are a major cause of Li-ion battery safety events. We have developed multiple, distinct, non-invasive and chemistry-agnostic technologies for sensitive early detection of internal shorts in Li-ion batteries before the shorts pose a thermal runaway threat. We are implementing short detection for several applications and will describe examples of its use and benefits, and illustrate sensitivities achieved allowing early stage short detection well before shorts progress to the stage at which a thermal runaway occurs.

9:30 Understanding Safety of Aging Cells

Judith Jeevarajan, PhD, Research Director, Electrochemical Safety, Underwriters Laboratories, Inc.

Results of studies to cycle cells and modules under different voltage ranges as well as under the hybrid electric vehicle profile at different temperatures. The fresh and cycled cells and modules were subjected to off-nominal tests such as overcharge and external shorts to understand the characteristics of the aging process and how it might affect safety. Destructive analysis was carried out on fresh and cycled cells to understand component level changes that occur during the aging process.

10:00 Coffee Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

Next-Generation Battery Research/Battery Safety

10:45 Healing of Lithium Metal Dendrites for Electrochemical Energy Storage Applications

Lu Li, Research Assistant, Nikhil A. Koratkar Group, Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

I describe how self-heating (Joule heating) can be used to anneal and heal lithium metal dendrites in lithium-sulfur batteries. Operation of the battery at high operating current densities (i.e., high charge-discharge rates) will be used to heat the lithium dendrites. Above a critical activation temperature, surface diffusion and migration of Li atoms is triggered resulting in a morphology change of the dendrites into a smooth film-like morphology, which eliminates the risk of dendritic shorting of the electrochemical cell.

11:15 Design of Polymer-Supported, Low Volatility Gel Electrolytes

Matthew Panzer, PhD, Associate Professor, Graduate Program Chair, Chemical & Biological Engineering, Tufts University

Solid (gel) electrolyte films featuring room temperature ionic liquids (materials known as ionogels) hold great promise for realizing safer electrochemical energy storage devices. Ionogels are inherently safer than currently used liquid solvent-based electrolytes due to their nonvolatile, nonflammable and leak-proof nature. Recent findings suggest that controlling ion-polymer scaffold interactions through rational chemical functionalization is an important strategy by which one can optimize ionogel performance.

11:45 Making Li-Ion Batteries Safe and Flexible with Water

Kang Xu, PhD, Senior Research Chemist & Project Lead, US Army Research Lab

Non-aqueous electrolytes are responsible for the rare but high-profile safety incidents encountered by Li-ion batteries, and their moisture-sensitive and toxic nature also brought rigid form-factors. Using aqueous electrolytes would resolve most of these concerns, if water could be stabilized at extreme potentials required for most LIB chemistries. This work aims to explore that possibility.

12:15 pm Luncheon Presentation (Sponsorship Opportunity Available)

1:30 Shep Wolsky Battery Innovator Award and Tribute & Plenary Keynotes

1:45 Past, Present and Future of Lithium-Ion Batteries. Can New Technologies Open Up New Horizons?

Yoshio Nishi, PhD, Executive Alumni, Sony Corporation

Mr. Yoshio Nishi is retired senior vice president and chief technology officer of the Sony Corporation. He graduated in 1966 from the Faculty of Applied Chemistry of the Department of Technology at Keio University in Tokyo and immediately joined Sony, where he rose through the ranks to become corporate research fellow, vice president, and president of the company’s materials laboratories. In 1991 his team succeeded in the commercialization of the first lithium-ion secondary batteries (LIB). In 1994 he received technical awards from the Electrochemical Societies of both Japan and the United States in recognition of his contributions to LIB technology. In 2014, Dr. Nishi was awarded the Draper Prize by the National Academy of Engineering for pioneering and leading the groundwork for today’s lithium-ion battery. Since the early 1990s, LIBs were introduced into various mobile devices and we were reasonably confident that our customers would be satisfied with their performance. Shortly afterwards, however, we noticed that there were some discrepancies between the performance we offered and that expected by our customers. Dr. Nishi will discuss here what LIB users really require from secondary batteries.

2:05 Global Electrification and LG Chem

Denise Gray, CEO, LG Chem Power

Denise Gray is President/CEO of LG Chem Power Inc. (LGCPI), the North American subsidiary of lithium-ion battery maker, LG Chem (LGC), Korea. In this position, she has overall responsibility for the strategic direction, engineering, and business development activities for the North American market. The majority of her professional career, nearly 30 years, was spent at General Motors in the USA. Director of Battery Systems Engineering, Director of Transmission Controls Engineering, Director of Powertrain Controller Engineering, Director of Powertrain Software Engineering, and development of powertrain and vehicle electrical systems were her core engineering responsibilities. A review of the current global trends in vehicle electrification and automotive battery technologies will be presented. This will be carried out highlighting LG Chem’s participation in the various segments from materials, cell and cost points of view.

2:25 Addressing Key Battery Issues from a Thermodynamics Perspective

Rachid Yazami, PhD, School of Materials Science & Engineering, Program Director, Energy Storage, Energy Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Rachid Yazami is a French Morrocan scientist best known for his research on lithium-ion batteries and on fluoride-ion batteries. He is the inventor of the graphite anode (negative pole) of lithium-ion batteries. In 2014 Rachid Yazami, John Goodenough, Yoshio Nishi and Akira Yoshino were awarded the Draper Prize by the National Academy of Engineering for pioneering and leading the groundwork for today’s lithium-ion battery. In this presentation, we will show how online thermodynamics data collection and processing addresses the SOC and SOH determination. We found a universal rule, which applies to all LIB tested at any SOH (ageing), that is the SOC is a linear function of entropy and enthalpy. Linearity coefficients are LIB chemistry and SOH dependent. Therefore, the thermodynamics assessment method teaches on the type of cathode material and on the degree of anode and cathode degradation as the battery ages.

2:45 Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

3:30 Close of Battery Safety