Photo: Imperial College London

Imperial College London (ICL) and Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE) are working on a project to ‘bridge the gap between thermofluid science and battery electrochemistry’ by developing a first-of-a-kind multiphase multiphysics model of battery failure via thermal runaway (this is a self-sustaining cascade of exothermic reactions that produce large volumes of gas).

The model will ‘consider gas dynamics and its interactions with electrochemical and thermal behaviours, with the goal of advancing the understanding of initiation and propagation of the thermal runaway processes and accelerate the design of countermeasures’. The Electrochemical Science and Engineering research group at ICL says their work aligns with WAE’s interest in offering greater battery safety and longevity.

“Achieving this will deliver cost-effective electrification solutions to benefit both WAE and our global client base. Applying the multiphase multiphysics modelling toolsets will enable the design of safer battery packs with fewer iterations and physical tests — saving time, costs and materials.”

Rob Millar, WAE’s head of electrification, added: “We are confident that the proposed study will bring tangible economic and environmental benefits and look forward to building on our long-term partnership with the team at ICL.”

Huizhi Wang, who is leading the project at ICL, said: “Understanding and modelling thermal runaway plays a crucial role in guiding the development of safer batteries but remains challenging due to the complexity of the process. We are excited to be working with WAE on this research project to address the key knowledge gaps in battery safety modelling.”