On June 5, 2024, two members of the Safety & Reliability thrust in the Sandia Energy Storage program gave invited presentations at the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) Engineering Solutions Symposium in Phoenix, Arizona. The focus of the symposium was “Progress with Li-Ion Battery Fire Safety: Engineering Solutions to Mobility and Storage Hazards.
Dr. John Hewson provided a talk on Understanding, Predicting, and Mitigating Cell-to-Cell Cascading Failure in Lithium-ion Battery Modules. Dr. Hewson gave an overview of some of the phenomena observed in cascading failure of lithium-ion batteries, and discussed what it takes to predict cascading propagation and how safer systems might be designed.
Dr. Loraine Torres-Castro presented on Early Detection of Li-Ion Battery Thermal Runaway Using Commercial Diagnostic Technologies. Dr. Torres-Castro discussed the use of rapid electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) coupled with gas sensing technology as diagnostics to monitor cells and packs for failure markers during thermal and electrical abuse. Identifying diagnostic tools that pinpoint failure markers with ample time to intervene is crucial for minimizing the consequences of failure.
This forum featured speakers involved in the cutting edge of battery safety research, created a tie between the developers of energy storage systems and the fire protection engineering community together, along with participation from first responders. The forum addressed system engineering tradeoffs in these energy storage systems.
The SFPE is the leading professional society for fire protection engineers who are involved in designing energy storage system installations with reduced risks.
This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Electricity (OE), Energy Storage Division.