Unbiased vitality professional and assurance supplier DNV launched the fourth edition of its Battery Scorecard report, to place a highlight on probably the most urgent battery questions, together with security, helpful life, and degradation. Our massive takeaway is from the thermal runaway testing.
Whereas batteries have been commercially accessible for many years, most stationary storage merchandise are lower than 5 years outdated. The Battery Scorecard offers venture builders and homeowners information and insights that may assist them choose the right applied sciences for the distinctive circumstances of their initiatives.
“As vitality storage additional penetrates vitality markets and infrastructure, confirmed security and total efficiency will turn into important to initiatives. The most effective and most correct means to make sure efficiency and security is thru testing,” stated Richard S. Barnes, area president, Vitality Techniques North America at DNV. “Battery programs aren’t value putting in if they will’t be run safely and reliably.”
This version of the Battery Scorecard incorporates impartial testing outcomes from 19 completely different battery cell varieties throughout the next classes:
- Cell manufacturing quantity
- Cell efficiency: <2-hour grid help companies
- Cell efficiency: 4-hour photo voltaic shifting
- Cell efficiency: high-power car software
- Calendar fade
- Battery administration system optimization
- Security: off-gas and thermal runaway temperature thresholds
- Security: off-gas composition
Key takeaway
Pay shut consideration to the thermal runaway testing. The generally heard chorus is that lithium-ion batteries with NMC chemistry is at a better threat of thermal runaway in comparison with LFP chemistry. General the dangers are decrease, however the DNV testing reveals that the place these LFP batteries come from issues. The actual check is the differential between venting and thermal runaway temperatures, in response to the authors.
Two temperatures are most essential when contemplating thermal runaway. The primary is the cell venting temperature, or the temperature at which the buildup of gases inside the cell are launched via the cell’s strain launch vent to keep away from rupturing the cell’s casing. The second temperature is the onset temperature at which thermal runaway happens.
That is the “level of no return” for the cell, the place uncontrollable self-propagating reactions concerned in thermal runaway start. Whereas cells might in the end attain temperatures as excessive as 1000 °C, the temperature at which these reactions start helps decide monitoring and management mechanisms wanted to keep away from thermal runaway altogether. Whereas venting and thermal runaway of an remoted cell is regarding by itself, a key design and management mechanism inside battery programs lies in stopping cascading results of 1 cell’s thermal runaway inflicting different cells to additionally attain thermal runaway.
This chart from the report reveals how vastly completely different venting and thermal runaway onset temperatures can range from each NMC to LFP and LFP to LFP.
This information from UL 9540A cell-level assessments had thermal runaway initiated utilizing a typical repeatable methodology. It’s usually thought-about favorable to have a better diploma of separation between the fuel venting and thermal runaway onset temperatures, particularly if fuel detection is out there inside the vitality storage system.
If fuel is detected early, there’s extra time to catch an overheating cell and forestall thermal runaway from occurring altogether. If the venting and runaway temperatures are nearer collectively, there’s much less time accessible to forestall thermal runaway utilizing fuel detection. As well as, larger thermal runaway temperatures are higher: this implies comparatively extra vitality is required for the cell to achieve that temperature and go into runaway.
When evaluating and choosing appropriate know-how suppliers, DNV recommends that venture builders take the next steps to make sure venture success:
Begin with the cell. Battery vitality storage programs all have battery cells as their core part, which dictate efficiency, security, and value. Discover out who manufactures the cell (if completely different from the system integrator), and the way lengthy that cell has been in manufacturing.
Consider whole deployments of cells and programs. Whole deployments of the underlying battery cell and the built-in system are each good indicators of how dependable the product might be. There are sometimes many bugs to work via after product launch. Extra expertise within the subject typically results in improved merchandise.
Request the “Bankability Report”. Unbiased vetting of the built-in system is important to make an knowledgeable choice. Battery producers ought to have Bankability Studies on their merchandise and needs to be excited to share these with potential prospects to show their dedication to transparency.
Request impartial check information to validate efficiency, guarantee claims, and security. Testing offers validation of every product’s design, operation, and security. Unbiased testing verifies that the product will function as specified with out producer intervention. DNV recommends requesting impartial check information from all battery suppliers earlier than making a buying choice to raised perceive the product and its influence in your vitality storage venture or EV software.
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