The EV market is developing quickly, but this does not come easily.
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Customers are searching for better, longer-lasting, and more economically viable solutions to correspond with the ever-changing EV landscape. Automakers globally are ready for this challenge, investigating novel solutions to make the future of mobility completely electric.
Material Selection
Not all batteries are equal. Different battery chemistries are being utilized, varying according to EV price, performance requirements, and driving range needs. Most EVs have lithium-ion nickel, manganese, cobalt (NMC) or lithium-ferrous lithium, iron, phosphate (LFP) chemistries.
NMC batteries have superior performance, energy densities, charging performance, and acceleration compared to LFP batteries. Although NMC lithium-ion battery performance is considered superior, the batteries also carry a greater risk for thermal events, which should be well thought out during the design stage.
LFP batteries are typically safer, less costly, and run cooler, with less chance of thermal runaway. However, they also have lower performance and lower energy density. This is an active space where designers see greater developments.
It appears that these safer technologies clash with energy-density technologies. Saint Gobain’s role, alongside its customers, is to bridge the gap between safety and performance by aiding material selection and product innovation.
Addressing Lithium Battery Thermal Runaway
Regarding NMC battery chemistry, Saint Gobain has observed that thermal runaway propagation happens at very high temperatures that overcome multiple common material solutions.
The company has specially designed its Norseal® TRP product line to help reduce these risks. Its TRP1000 is a silicone foam with added mica surface layers that can resist 1000 °C.
Its technology effectively merges the characteristics of a compression pad with thermal runaway protection. This means that TRP1000 can deliver superior performance throughout the battery’s life and has extra benefits for thermal mitigation, which rarely happens.
Saint Gobain’s TRP product family line is always seeking novel ways to more effectively target these higher-performance, demanding technologies. The company is working on novel product developments and improvements to create products that can help provide a fire barrier, compress to help withstand elevated temperatures, and provide additional thermal runaway protection.
Compression Set Value
Saint Gobain battery compression pads calibrate according to the swelling in pouch and prismatic cells during the battery’s lifespan. The foam should provide optimum pressure to the cells and cushioning support over the charge/discharge cycle.
“Compression set” regulates how well a certain material can return to its initial shape and dimensions following compression. A key benefit of a low compression set is that the material can recover from force and impact, returning to and retaining its initial shape over time.
In the case of poor recovery, air gaps create pressure issues for the cell. A springlike property is needed to deflect and return energy and diffuse it across a spectrum of compression quantities. This is known as compression force deflection.
When exposed to extreme pressure or compression loads, Saint Gobain’s recommended foam cushioning materials demonstrate elevated resistance and usually preserve efficacy beyond the battery pack’s lifespan.
At Saint-Gobain Tape Solutions, our goal is to look ahead. We aim to have close collaboration and partnership with customers to understand their needs and help remove any material shortcomings. We do this by utilizing a variety of test methodologies that help demonstrate how a material will perform based on the required application.
Richmond Powers, Sales Specialist - Emerging Markets, Saint-Gobain Tape Solutions
Foreseeing Potential Performance Challenges Upfront
While Saint Gobain focuses on meeting original equipment manufacturer standards and American Society for Testing and Materials testing standards, occasionally, customers need accelerated tests and answers to more sophisticated questions that these common industry test approaches may not cover.
Saint Gobain’s teams are challenged with questions, including, “What happens when the foam reaches 10,000 compressions?” Other questions include: “What is the highest temperature performance of a certain material?” and “How will a foam material respond to 1 % compression, at 2 % or at 500 °C and beyond?”
To answer such questions, Saint Gobain depends on innovative modeling software, which is superior to standard test methods. It makes it possible to input a broad range of data, according to the answers its customers seek, and test it. This helps forecast issues and challenges that may not have been previously considered.
It also allows the collection of extensive data concerning trends, needs, and capabilities across various applications. This is a value-add for customers who wish to co-develop products and solutions. It also provides baseline and next-level information for the company’s R&D teams to continue exploring, testing, and innovating.
This information has been sourced, reviewed, and adapted from materials provided by Saint-Gobain Tape Solutions.
For more information on this source, please visit Saint-Gobain Tape Solutions.