Thermal Runaway of Lithium Batteries

The thermal runaway of lithium batteries is an outstanding example for an extreme event in a complex technical system. Thermal runaway refers to the ignition or explosion of a battery as consequence of a self-accelerating heating process, which is initiated by stochastically-occurring internal or external triggers. The corresponding safety problems are today a major concern in the introduction of lithium batteries for electromobility or stationary energy storage.

The objective of project is to understand, predict and control thermal runaway in lithium batteries. We propose the development and application of a combined methodology of multi-scale deterministic modeling, stochastic simulation and experimental analyses.

This will allow probabilistic predictions of thermal runaway events and the design of an early-warning and risk-aware heat management system for lithium batteries. The results are expected to give a major thrust to energy-efficient electromobility and to energy storage for sustainable sources.