
Preventing Thermal Runaway in Energy Storage Systems (ESS)
From air transportation to electric vehicles and most recently “Hover Boards”, our industry is painfully aware of the over-discharge malfunctions associated with high-energy lithium-ion batteries, yet according to recent studies, nearly 70% of all Energy Storage Systems currently deployed are lithium-ion. Avoiding the pitfalls of utilizing greater energy density in larger installations is what will be discussed. Michelle will walk through the recent innovations from materials and process tracking in battery manufacturing to comprehensive control of cells in a fully deployed system. Incorporating lessons learned from recent failure investigations by the NTSB and FAA as well as new DoE mandates, Michelle will discuss how to achieve and in some areas surpass the new emerging safety certifications for a multi-megawatt energy storage system.
This webinar will focus on the following key topics:
• Making batteries safe or making safe batteries? (control & mitigation)
• Cell manufacture tracking, certification and response
– NTSB & DoE analysis and current situation
• Incorporating advanced battery management systems (BMS)
– Active cell dynamic balancing
– Cell replacement (hot-swapping)
– System reconfiguration
– Energy density scalability
Presenter
Michelle Klassen – VP of Business Development at Pathion, Inc.
Michelle Klassen is VP of Business Development for PATHION Inc. which manufactures high-performance, safe, and reliable Energy Storage Systems (ESS) for commercial markets ranging from 86 kilowatt-hours in stand-alone systems to over 1 megawatt-hour in containerized units. Prior to PATHION, as Vice President at ZeroBase Energy, she led the design and implementation of power systems and micro-grids for customers, including the US Department of Defense, Kenya Ministry of Energy and the L.A. Department of Water and Power.
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Advancing Mining Processes to Make Better Materials for Use in Lithium Ion Batteries
American Manganese Inc has developed a low-cost, environmentally friendly hydrometallurgical process to recover manganese (Mn) from lower grade resources. American Manganese has applied for a patent for their hydrometallurgical process that produces electrolytic manganese metal with low energy and water consumption. American Manganese commissioned R&D contractor, Kemetco Research Inc to determine uses of Artillery Peak manganese resource material to generate high value alternative products. Chemical manganese dioxide (CMD) and lithiated manganese oxide (LixMn2O4) for use in rechargeable batteries were the areas researched.
The research was successful in producing CMD from Artillery Peak resource material with low cation impurities and avoiding processing steps that are known to introduce metallic impurities in the final product. Cation impurities cause capacity fade, whereas metallic impurities are known to cause catastrophic failures (such as fire and explosions) in lithium ion batteries. Working rechargeable lithium ion coin cell battery prototypes were produced from the CMD material.
This webinar will focus on the following key topics:
• Catastrophic failure of Li Ion batteries caused by metallic impurities that may be introduced from the mining of raw materials
• Conventional mining process to recover MnO2 used to make LiMn2O4
• Research on a new mining process that avoids steps known to introduce metallic impurities to recover MnO2 used to make LiMn2O4
Presenter
Norman Chow – President – Kemetco Research, Inc.
Norman earned a B.A.Sc. and M.A.Sc. in Metals and Materials Engineering from University of British Columbia. He is a Registered Professional Engineer (P. Eng.) in British Columbia. He has over 15 years of technology development and contract research experience. He is the President of Kemetco Research Inc., which he formed after acquiring the Industrial Process Division of BC Research Inc. BC Research had been in operation for over 60 years as an R&D contractor.
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Preventing Li Ion Battery Failures From a Manufacturing and Design Perspective
How can you be proactive and make sure your cell supplier is the right one and you don’t end up with thermal events and field failures? Is it enough to qualify a cell manufacturer according to industry standards? The answer is that the majority of compliance based testing is related to abuse tolerance. However, the vast majority of field failures do not occur under abuse scenarios, but happen under normal operating conditions due to manufacturing flaws or design and system tolerance issues that cause internal shorts. In this webinar, you will learn about common lithium ion battery failure modes and how to be proactive in preventing these.
This webinar will focus on the following key topics:
• Gain an understanding of lithium ion battery failure mechanisms and the pathway to thermal events
• Learn how cell design impacts battery safety and reliability
• Learn the basic steps in a lithium ion cell manufacturing process, and how the process controls affect safety and reliability
• Come away with a checklist to qualify your cell manufacturer
Presenter
Vidyu Challa – Technical Director at DfR Solutions
Vidyu Challa is Technical Director at DfR Solutions where she works on battery reliability and safety issues. Dr. Challa helps customers with their battery challenges including design reviews, manufacturing audits and supplier qualification. She obtained a PhD from CALCE Electronic Products and Systems Center at the
University of Maryland. She has broad based expertise that includes engineering technology start-up experience, product development, R&D, and business development. Dr. Challa has published her work in journals, presented at conferences and written blog articles.
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