TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER OPPORTUNITY: Carbon Fiber Sleeve Tempers Battery Thermal Runaway (MSC-TOPS-119)

Scope

NASA’s Technology Transfer Program solicits inquiries from companies interested in obtaining license rights to commercialize, manufacture and market the following technology.

License rights may be issued on an exclusive or nonexclusive basis and may include specific fields of use.

NASA provides no funding in conjunction with these potential licenses.

THE TECHNOLOGY: Innovators at NASA Johnson Space Center have developed a carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) sleeve, that, when fitted over a cylindrical lithium-ion battery cell, can prevent cell-to-cell propagation by containing a thermal runaway (TR) event to the originating cell.

TR is caused by a battery cell short-circuiting and its inability to contain the resulting increase in pressure and temperature, which may lead to a sidewall rupture (SWR).

Space flight and other industrial batteries frequently utilize multiple cells, such as the 18650, that are assembled into modules or battery packs and provide power to a variety of applications.

A TR event can propagate to all the cells in a battery pack, escalating into a fire that can be catastrophic.

Use of CFRP sleeves for Li-ion cells provides multiple advantages over previous containment designs: increased hazard safety, lower mass, reduced cost, lack of conductivity, and manufacture with readily available materials.

Hundreds of billions of 18650 battery cells are made globally and are the most common single cell format.

They are used in commercially available products such as power tools, laptops, cameras, e-bikes, and electric cars.

This thermal runaway propagation resistant technology has a technology readiness level (TRL) of 6 (System/sub-system model or prototype demonstration in an operational environment) and is now available for patent licensing.

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