Honeywell and Nexceris will co-develop sensor-based solutions to help prevent conditions leading to thermal runaway in EV batteries, a phenomenon that causes extremely high temperatures within the battery cell and can result in a fire.
Several industries are moving to electrified power sources, and for the automotive industry specifically, global sales of EVs doubled in 2021 from the previous year to nearly 7 million. Many of these vehicles are using lithium-ion batteries as an energy source, which can pose rare but significant safety risks including fires that can impact drivers on the road, homeowners who may have EVs parked in their garages and shipping handlers transporting EVs to their final destinations. To help mitigate these risks, automobile manufacturers are looking to incorporate technology to provide enhanced safety.
“As the world transitions to electric powered vehicles, automakers are faced with the need to provide lithium-ion batteries that function properly and safely during all stages of their lifecycle. At Honeywell, we are supporting this transition with ready-now solutions to help our customers mitigate safety risks as they expand their electric vehicle portfolios,” said Victor Verissimo, general manager of the Transportation line of business of Honeywell Sensing and Safety Technologies. “Furthermore, by collaborating with Nexceris to develop an enhanced suite of battery monitoring sensors, we will help automotive manufacturers strengthen their battery health monitoring systems with the ability to detect thermal runaway conditions even earlier.”
The companies will collaborate with leading global vehicle manufacturers to deliver advanced gas detection solutions in EV battery packs to allow for early intervention, helping avoid costly property damage and safety issues.
“Our work with Honeywell will help us empower the global transition to electric vehicles through enhanced battery monitoring,” said Kyle Shen, president and CEO, Nexceris. “Fires from lithium-ion batteries are dangerous and often difficult to contain after they start. By combining our shared expertise in battery sensing and gas detection technology with Honeywell’s extensive manufacturing capabilities, we will be working toward offering our vehicle manufacturing customers a more advanced safety solution and meeting the growing demand for lithium-ion batteries.”
Honeywell offers a wide range of lithium-ion battery safety and performance solutions, including sensors used in battery management systems to monitor the health of EV batteries, gas detection solutions used throughout the manufacturing process and electrical safety personal protective equipment, providing protection to workers and allowing them to operate safely in hazardous conditions.
In 2020, Honeywell and Nexceris formed a strategic alliance to address lithium-ion battery system safety for energy storage applications, combining Honeywell’s very early warning smoke detection and Li-ion Tamer’s leading off-gas detection technology for a safe, redundant way to protect facilities of any scale.
