HEL participates in the EV Battery Forum in Barcelona

“HEL participated in the EV Battery Forum in Barcelona this month – in the grand surroundings of the Hotel Rey Juan Carlos I.

We were the only exhibitor of battery testing equipment – in our case Battery Testing Calorimeter (BTC) information, which includes thermal runaway testing adiabatically (ARC-testing) and an isothermal calorimeter that provides thermal management data. The conference presentations were concerned with all factors affecting EV adoption: infrastructure issues like charger availability, battery lifetime and of course…battery safety. After discussions with the delegates over the 2 days of the conference it became apparent that the thorough testing of batteries under all conditions was universally seen as essential, yet the majority of organizations – even large ones – lacked the equipment to do this effectively. There is at the moment a lack of awareness that HEL’s adiabatic (ARC) and isothermal (thermal management) data is even available and how it could help design Battery Management Systems. Several presentations highlighted the future requirement for ever larger batteries that can be charged in ever shorter times suggesting that the need for this testing will only grow. HEL’s growing range of test capability, which now also includes automated nail penetration as well as several other “abuse” tests will be well placed to supply this vital equipment as the industry develops.''



For further information on our adiabatic calorimeter, please click here and for information on our isothermal BTC, please click here

HEL’s participation in the Advanced Automative Battery conference in Orlando

HEL participated for the first time in the AABC Conference in Florida, both having an exhibition booth and making a technical presentation by HEL's managing director Dr Jasbir singh.

Click here to view video.

The technical program for the conference is highly scientific in nature both strong commercial presence but also many academics in attendance. HEL's presentation that was delivered looked into the complementary role of adiabatic ("ARC-Type") calorimetery for battery thermal runaway testing and isothermal (controlled) measurement of heat release to provide the thermal management duty specification. HEL's standard BTC is now an established benchmark for runaway thermal testing of EV and other high energy batteries with the ability to test large batteries and packs.

The isothermal BTC version, iso-BTC, is relatively new generated a lot of interest among attendees and people were generally convinced that this is an essential part of the safety should be supplied. Knowing how much heat is generated when discharging Li-ion batteries can be used to design cooling systems controlled from a BMS. HEL's approach this form of heat measurement has the attraction of being on-line and providing a unique into the workings of batteries which developers can make use of to improve battery design.

HEL’s range of Chemical Reactors and Thermal Hazard Testing capability

Enerrgy, batteries and safety, all relate to HEL's range of chemical reactors and thermal hazard testing capability, which at the moment are undergoing rapid development as governments and industry respond to global warming. A lot of research into bio-fuels, especially using non-food items as the source, involves high pressure chemistry and catalysis which fit perfectly with HEL’s flowCAT and HP Chemcan systems for performing hydrogenation, oxidation and carbonylation reactions (among others). HEL’s unique position arises from the ability to design compact, “analytical-looking” instruments even though complex high pressure and temperature operations are involved yet operability is rendered simple and fast.

The other side of the energy equation is to look ahead to renewable sources which will then require the use of batteries for storage and transportation applications. Battery technology has a long way to go but even the current favourite which is based around Li-ion chemistry poses huge fire/explosion risks unless handled correctly. This leads to HEL’s position as the leading provider of the widest range of calorimetry tools to enable understanding of the chemistry (using typically SIMULAR reaction calorimeter), direct simulation of the thermal runaway risk (with “ARC” type adiabatic calorimeters such as the Battery Testing Calorimeter, BTC) and design of suitable thermal management systems to prevent battery explosive runaway (with the isothermal version of the BTC which directly provides the information for a BMS).

The last of these, iso-BTC, was launched only recently and has huge potentially for providing the heat load that battery thermal management systems must cope with, in order to prevent thermal runaway and explosion. The principle involved here is similar to that used by HEL for years in their reaction calorimeters and the challenge is to translate this to batteries and packs which can be cylindrical, pouch and prismatic in shape and widely different sizes.

A growing interest for HEL in the car battery market

The car battery market is definitely of growing interest that HEL group is continuing to tap into. Last year, from 8-9 December in Boston, HEL exhibited our Battery Testing Calorimeter for the first time at the ‘Battery Safety’ conference. This is one of the few conferences devoted to battery safety, especially thermal runaway potential and the role of adiabatic calorimeters such as our Battery Testing Calorimeter in helping to provide safety data. Our managing director, Dr Jasbir Singh, was one of the speakers at this two day conference and focused on the added value of videoing batteries undergoing thermal runaway, so that temperature information can be combined with photographic evidence, to learn about where and how batteries fail during thermal runaway. Our battery safety calorimeter generated a lot of interest.

Recently, in October 25-27, ‘The Battery Show’ conference was held in Detroit, US, is the heart of the US car industry. Exhibitors represented a wide range of products relating to the EV market, with safety being of minor interest. Although our Battery Testing Calorimeter (“ARC Type” system) was not taken to the exhibition, Dr Singh had taken some videos of batteries undergoing thermal runaways to the exhibition. He says about the videos that, ‘it is a rather unique capability; it generated a lot of interest’. From the exhibition, it was clear that the car battery market is seeing a lot of investment and the market is growing fast, as his conclusions were that ‘several car manufacturers are planning to include a budget for the BTC-ARC for their Thermal Safety Testing’.

Battery research for Electric Vehicles

By Dr Jasbir Singh

after a thermal "abuse" test in a BTC

There is a proliferation of conference events on Electric Vehicle (EV) batteries worldwide and we attended a conference and exhibition on EV batteries in London on 30-31 March.

This was well attended with visitors from many countries representing car manufacturers, universities, battery producers and service and instrument providers such as HEL. We exhibited our smaller scale battery testing calorimeter which is used for basic research into battery components and chemicals; our system for evaluating larger packs – the Battery Testing Calorimeter (BTC) is rather difficult to transport, and we decided to leave it at the office this time...

I also made a presentation at the conference, presenting results of batteries tested for safety under adiabatic conditions and including data from cyclers integrated into the control software which allows charging and discharging limits to be explored.  Contact marketing@helgroup.com for a copy of the presentation.

What does it look like inside the Phi-TEC BTC ?

The new feature available on the Phi-TEC BTC allows you to watch the battery during a thermal / electrical safety testing, whilst charging and discharging.  Watch the video below (no sound):

Read the Application Notes :
BATTERY LIFE-TIME TESTING WITH BTC
RUNAWAY LI-ION BATTERY EXPLOSION DURING CHARGING / DISCHARGING

Novel uses for the Battery Testing Calorimeter...

An Adiabatic Calorimeter - or perhaps a soup kitchen ?!

Not only suitable for battery safety testing, HEL's Phi-TEC BTC has been recently used to heat up some very cold garlic bread, arriving nearly 3 hours late - due to the snowy conditions.  

Yes, the Pizzas were cold too.  We noticed that the wide diameter of the Battery Testing Calorimeter meant that all the Pizzas could fit in there comfortably.... Needless to say, however, that we were all so hungry we ate the Pizzas cold... !

Lithium Mobile Power .. Boston, USA and 5th International Forum on Li-ion Battery Technology... Beijing, China (4-7 November).

By Dr Jasbir Singh

This November, I attended  a couple of different conferences involving battery technology. Each had a range of speakers talking about safety, as well as other general research topics.

Safety is seen a major obstacle to development of Li-ion technology and therefore HEL’s involvement as a major supplier of safety testing solutions was very important. At both conferences we exhibited our advanced Battery Testing Calorimeter (BTC) as it is unique in being able to provide a single solution to for both small scale testing of battery components, as well as direct simulation of larger scale battery incidents, including the “abuse” testing methods specified by various protocols. At the Beijing Forum on Li-on Batteries I made a presentation, which can be viewed here ... 

Thermal Stability of Batteries

By Dr Jasbir Singh

HEL were invited to make a presentation on safety testing of batteries, using adiabatic calorimetry, at the meeting of the Thermal Methods Group (TMG) of the RSC, to be held 30/31 March in Harwell, England. 

The Abstract of the talk I plan to give entitled "Thermal Stability of Batteries"  is available via this link;  it is  focused on Phi-TEC Battery Testing Calorimeter (BTC), developed especially for small and large batteries alike, based on the principles of the “ARC” calorimeter produced by Dow Chemical, back in the 1980s. The Phi-TEC is already established as the bench mark replacement for the “ARC” and is used worldwide for chemical safety testing.