SBIR Phase I: Polymer Based Current Collectors for Enhancing the Fire-Safety of Electric Vehicle Batteries

The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is safer and greener batteries. Batteries have become one of the most essential tools in our daily life. Batteries are found in toys, cell phones, watches, machinery tools, portable gadgets and lights, e-bikes, electric energy storages, cars and not too far in the future airplanes.

However, one of the biggest problems with batteries is fire and how to prevent it. Advances in research are progressing to find alternative materials for use in batteries to minimize and lower the possibility of fire to zero. This project is to develop and confirm a new material, which can be used outside and inside the battery to prevent fire and lower the possibility of fire.

It can prevent a fire from starting or stop the fire from spreading. The material can be used outside, as a casing for the battery, and inside to replace some of the components inside the battery. A secondary characteristic of the material for this project is, it is also not hazardous but friendly to the environment. This is in line with providing a greener environment.

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop a new material needed to increase the safety of lithium-ion batteries including replacing some components with fire extinguishing polymer and polymer composites. Due to their power density and reactive components, damaged and abused batteries can ignite and burn. These fires are difficult to extinguish.

The proposed work will replace one of the battery components to decrease the weight of the battery and increase the fire safety of the battery. By replacing the metallic current collector with a metalized, thermally responsive, self-extinguishing, polymer based charge collector, a lighter weight battery will now have a fire retardant material inside the battery.

With this thermally responsive material, the conductivity of the collector decreases as the battery temperature approaches the thermal runaway temperature, therefore decreasing discharge and heat generation. If this mechanism does not stop the thermal runaway, any fire will be suppressed by the collector’s flame retardant polymer core. The net result of this proposed work will be lighter and safer batteries.

With these new safer and lighter batteries, the electric vehicle market can grow with the knowledge that there will be fewer fire and enhanced range.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.