Assessing the Safety of Solid-State Battery Technology

AUGUST 8-9, 2023

Speaker: Lucy Buannic, Ph.D.

Though little is widely known about solid-state battery failures, what we do know is that catastrophic battery failure can occur from reactive lithium metal anodes and higher energy densities — unless sound engineering and design can mitigate the risks. Evaluating new solid-state battery designs prior to commercialization, ensuring adherence to battery safety standards, and understanding unique failure modes to prevent unexpected field failures are crucial when designing and manufacturing solid-state batteries. This presentation will explore how solid-state battery safety can be accurately assessed, including electrochemical and calorimetric techniques.

AUGUST 8-9, 2023

Speaker: Wahid Zaman, Ph.D.

While researchers consider solid-state batteries safer than conventional lithium-ion batteries, they are not risk-free from thermal runaway scenarios. Thermodynamic models predict that the total heat release due to internal shorting can be significantly higher in solid-state batteries. Internal short-circuiting due to dendrite propagation or mechanical failure of solid electrolytes (separators) can occur from various abusive conditions and can rapidly convert the stored energy into heat. For battery packs, this may lead to large-scale lithium metal-induced fire events. This presentation will highlight the potential failure modes of solid-state batteries, ranging from a cell to pack level, and the need for quantitively assessing the unique failure modes through customized testing.