Lithium-ion battery designer Enovix Corp. has shown how its technology can provide an increase in energy density without increasing fire danger.
In typical lithium-ion batteries, when they are pierced or severely damaged, a short can occur potentially resulting in a fiery chain reaction.
This is called thermal runaway and it has happened numerous times in numerous devices over the years including a Samsung smartphone in 2016 that had to be recalled due to the batteries inside. Additionally, scooters, skateboards and even electric cars have all had problems with batteries catching fire over the years.
Enovix’s BrakeFlow technology uses an intra-cell system that increases a 3D lithium-ion battery’s so-called abuse tolerance.
The company said with the move to increase the use of lithium-ion batteries as a transition point for renewable and cleaner energy in electric vehicles and trucks, the batteries need to be powerful but also decrease the possibility of thermal runaways.
“In order to meet the technological demands of the future, we need a more powerful battery; however, more powerful, high-energy density batteries can have an increased risk of thermal runaway, which can lead to a fire,” said Harrold Rust, co-founder, president and CEO of Enovix. “The Enovix battery architecture enables increased energy density without compromising safety.”
The full research can be found in Envonix’s BrakeFlow research paper.
