CamMotive and Thermulon to test AEROMOTIVE thermal runaway barrier for EV batteries

Electric powertrain consultancy CamMotive and aerogel developer Thermulon have been named technology partners in a £2-million, UK government-backed project to improve the safety of EV batteries. The two companies will work with an unnamed UK OEM to tackle thermal runaway in battery systems, under the government’s DRIVE35 program.

The 12-month collaboration will develop and evaluate AEROMOTIVE, a UK-made aerogel-based barrier designed to contain thermal runaway in battery packs. AEROMOTIVE uses thin, lightweight layers of Anti Thermal Propagation (ATP) material to limit heat transfer between cells and slow the spread of a runaway event.

Thermal runaway is one of the central safety challenges in lithium-ion batteries. Under certain fault conditions a cell can heat uncontrollably, triggering a chain reaction that propagates across a module or pack and can lead to fire or explosion. A barrier placed between cells is intended to interrupt that chain by slowing cell-to-cell heat transfer.

CamMotive will design the testing and validation program that evaluates how the barrier performs under different conditions. That work includes prismatic cell swelling and compression testing, which measures how mechanical forces affect cell longevity and safety and is used to optimize the ATP pads.

“This project will deliver critical research and testing methodologies that make EV batteries safer,” said Luke Barron, Senior Engineer at CamMotive.

Source: CamMotive