Freudenberg opens new lab to test thermal runaway

With the new lab at North American headquarters in Michigan, USA, the supplier can test batteries and battery components in-house. The goal is to learn more about operations such as thermal runaway - and how to prevent it.

Freudenberg Sealing Technologies has opened a new battery testing laboratory at its North American headquarters in Plymouth, Michigan. Engineers can observe operations such as thermal runaway and use the insight gained for further R&D activities.

The new lab consists of two eight-by-eight-by-eight-foot steel test chambers. These are located in a reinforced test room and house the cells, modules, or batteries engineers want to test. Moreover, they are equipped with 9v, 100amp low voltage charging, and 800v, 600amp high voltage charging capabilities.

“This battery laboratory will help provide valuable insight and the data needed to design solutions for EV products,” says Chad Bauer, Senior Vice President of Technology and Innovation at Freudenberg. “Our material development experience with fire and thermal applications began more than 20 years ago with our aerospace products, and we continue to build upon this knowledge for EV applications.”

Thermal runaway is the ignition or explosion of a battery cell caused by a self-reinforcing heating process initially caused by overcharging, excessive discharging, damage, or heating of the battery. When that happens, the cell releases flames, hot gases, and electrically conductive particles. These, in turn, can cause thermal propagation in adjacent cells and lead to short circuits. Thermal barriers then act as protective layers that slow down or prevent the heat and flames from spreading.

The data generated by tests in the new lab will “improve the company’s functional battery knowledge, support company and customer product development activities, and shorten development cycles,” Freudenberg Sealing Technologies writes in its media statement.

The chambers “are rated to withstand thermal events in single cells, modules, and battery packs up to 25 kWh – the energy equivalent of several pounds of TNT,” the company emphasises. Freudenberg Sealing Technologies installed numerous sensors to monitor pressure, flow, and gasses to guarantee safety in and outside the lab.

“We have placed high emphasis on establishing and continuously reviewing safety protocols and emergency protection plans,” explains Heather Shuman, mechanical laboratory manager for Freudenberg Sealing Technologies in the Americas. “An important aspect of how we conduct battery testing is how safely we do it.”

Just recently, Freudenberg Sealing Technologies announced that it has developed thermal barriers that help to slow down or even stop thermal runaway. Initial series production is underway, and Freudenberg expects its new 3D geometries to become bestsellers.

fst.com