Significant demand for Lithium-ion Batteries (LIBs) for EV and grid applications has led to supply chain issues for North America (NA). To track the growth of LIB supply chain, NAATBatt and NREL have published a database of companies' mine, process, manufacture, reuse, and recycle batteries in NA since September, 2021. We will discuss the growth of various segments particularly in mining and material processing over the last four years.

Vents are crucial for battery pack safety, especially under thermal runaway conditions. As battery cell chemistry and pack designs evolve, selecting appropriate venting units becomes increasingly important. The presentation provides an overview of regulatory and technological trends influencing vent design and introduces additional features like gas sensors and hot particle filters.

As Li-ion cells cycle, emergent localized stresses within the jellyroll can compromise the mechanical integrity of the battery separator and increase safety and reliability risks. However, replicating these failures in situ can often take months of testing. In this talk, I will introduce an accelerated method that we have developed that replicates this failure mode and discuss the implications on separator design. 

The benefits of direct battery immersion cooling are significant, not just during regular operation but also in preventing thermal runaway in extreme conditions. This presentation emphasizes the importance of flow rate and duration of flow after an abuse event when considering immersion cooling. The data provided is valuable for designing immersion cooling systems and for selecting appropriate test conditions when evaluating fluids.

Battery safety under aggressive usage, such as fast charging, or abnormal conditions like post-accident or disaster, is a major concern for electric vehicle adoption. To address these risks, significant efforts focus on identifying early indicators of battery failure using sensors and diagnostics. New methods are emerging to assess battery health and diagnose potential failures during or after abnormal events. These technologies are vital for informing consumers, first responders, and recovery teams of safety risks. This presentation will showcase Idaho National Laboratory's advancements in improving battery system safety under challenging conditions.

Batteries present unique safety risks throughout their lifecycle-from production, transportation, and use, to end-of-life disposal/recycling. This talk highlights the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety's battery research portfolio at the U.S. Department of Transportation. Our battery safety research covers safety throughout the lifecycle, investigating safer packaging, risks of new/emerging chemistries, battery safety monitoring/detection, and end-of-life handling. Additionally, the team pursues applied research on innovative technologies that can enhance battery safety.

Understanding thermal front propagation (TFP) characteristics, such as front and velocity, is crucial for assessing energy release and temperature distribution for battery hazardous estimation. Recent studies assume that TR within cells propagates at a near-constant velocity, based on the reaction kinetics and thermal properties. Here, an intra-battery TR model is further proposed and it indicates that TFP velocity stabilizes when the front is distanced from the heat source.

Thermal runaway, recognized as one of the major obstacles in the safe performance of lithium-ion batteries, has seriously hindered their large deployment. Therefore, it is crucial to develop new approaches that can accurately predict the failure of lithium-ion batteries and prevent catastrophic incidents. For this purpose, this study focuses on analyzing the failure of lithium-ion batteries due to the occurrence of thermal runaway using a data-driven framework called data-driven prognosis.

Battery incidents have gained notoriety and are newsworthy events. The Fire Service has been working quickly to equip, train, and prepare for emergencies that can occur in any jurisdiction. From a simple mobility issue to more complex transportation issues and batteries just in the built environment, this program will go through the general preparedness and how to include critical components of a facility or operator Emergency Response Plan. 

Those outside of the insurance industry have little to no understanding of what happens when an insured event occurs and what the process of subrogation is. This session will guide the audience through the process from production of a battery product to alleged failure-and explain the nuances that exist.