As lithium-ion batteries become increasingly more powerful and engineering strategies advance, battery regulations and safety testing must evolve to keep stride with R&D advancements. Regulatory associations, battery manufacturers, cell R&D engineers
and reliability engineers must develop robust and reliable tests for the progressively complex cells. Maintaining pack stability and mitigating thermal runaway to improve safety are vital to bring cells in R&D to market. Join us and enter the
discussion that is making batteries safer.
Final Agenda
Monday, March 20
7:00 am – 4:00 pm Tutorial* Registration Open
7:00 – 8:00 am Morning Coffee
8:00 – 4:00 Pre-Conference Tutorials*
12:30 – 1:30 pm Luncheon Presentation (Sponsorship Opportunity Available) or Enjoy Lunch on Your Own
1:30 – 2:00 Networking Refreshment Break
* Separate registration required for Tutorials.
Tuesday, March 21
7:30 am Registration and Morning Coffee
8:30 Organizer’s Opening Remarks
Craig Wohlers, Conference Director, Cambridge EnerTech
8:35 Chairperson’s Remarks
Ted J. Miller, Manager, Energy Storage and Materials Strategy and Research, Ford Motor Company
8:40 Progress in Battery Safety Performance Simulation
Ted J. Miller, Manager, Energy Storage and Materials Strategy and Research, Ford Motor Company
Advanced automotive batteries are the critical enabling technology for vehicle electrification. Ford has undertaken development of a battery safety simulation tool. This is a first-of-its-kind multi-physics (combined mechanical, electrical, electrochemical,
and thermal) CAE tool to predict battery response to a range of abuse conditions including crush due to crash and/or battery regulatory tests, short circuit, overcharge, and thermal ramp. An update on development progress and results from the alpha
version of the prototype tool will be presented.
9:10 U.S. Department of Energy Electric Vehicle Battery Research Pathways and Key Results
Brian Cunningham, Engineer, U.S. Department of Energy
The U.S. Department of Energy set key technical targets necessary to enable Electric Vehicles (EV) to be as affordable as gasoline vehicles by 2022. A focus of this effort is the development of more cost-effective, longer lasting, and more abuse-tolerant
EV batteries. VTO’s battery R&D effort includes multiple activities, ranging from battery materials research to battery cell and pack development and testing. This paper will highlight the current battery R&D pathways supported by VTO
and key technical results from 2016.
9:40 International Compliance for Li-Ion Batteries
Cynthia Millsaps, President and CEO, Quality, Energy Assurance LLC
International compliance for Li-ion batteries is not as straightforward as some other product categories. We will discuss transportation, mandatory and voluntary testing and certification requirements. It will include marks of conformity that are needed
as well as look at common issues that arise during the process.
10:10 Networking Coffee Break
10:45 Transportation of Advanced Batteries
Jacob Henderson, Director of Aftermarket Products, Lead Engineer, Spiers New Technology
11:15 Battery Transportation: Shipping Requirements and Safety Mitigation
Thomas (TJ) Leech, III, CHMM, FedEx Express
The latest regulations and unique FedEx lithium battery shipping requirements will be reviewed, along with aircraft safety and mitigation methods.
11:45 Fire Protection for Lithium-Ion Batteries
Michael Greiner, President, Hazard Control Technologies
Encapsulator Agents are the only proven technology to extinguish lithium-ion battery fires, tested by Bosch, Dekra, Deutsche ACCUmotive, Daimler (Mercedes-Benz) and several other automotive companies. Encapsulator Agents are mixed with water and delivered
from fire hoses or fixed suppression systems. Encapsulator Agents have an amazing ability to cool lithium-ion batteries, preventing reignition. The addition of an Encapsulator Agent will use 4-5 times less water to extinguish a lithium-ion battery
fire.
12:15 pm Electrification Opportunities in the Transportation Landscape
Christopher Robinson, Research Associate, Lux Research
This presentation will focus on the impact energy storage will have on the transportation landscape, ranging from plug-in vehicles to personal transportation. It will begin with a detailed look at segmenting the massive $10 billion near-term growth opportunity
in plug-in vehicles, analyzing individual OEMs and models in addition to the technologies and suppliers that will drive the industry. Additionally, it will cover the projected market share for mild- and micro-hybrid technologies, including what energy
storage technologies and system architectures are likely to be used. Finally, opportunities in the shifting personal mobility landscape will be covered, including bikes, scooters, and last-mile transport.
12:30 Session Break
12:40 Networking Luncheon (All Are Welcome)
1:40 Networking Refreshment Break
2:10 Chairperson’s Remarks
Brian Barnett, Ph.D., Vice President, CAMX Power
2:15 FEATURED PRESENTATION: Applications of Internal Short Circuit Detection and Examples of Early Implementations
Brian Barnett, Ph.D., Vice President, CAMX Power
Recent events have heightened awareness that internal short circuits are a major cause of Li-ion battery safety events. We have developed multiple, distinct, non-invasive and chemistry-agnostic technologies for sensitive early detection of internal shorts
in Li-ion batteries before the shorts pose a thermal runaway threat. We are implementing short detection for several applications and will describe examples of its use and benefits.
2:45 Modeling Mechanical Failure of Lithium-Ion Batteries to Improve Battery Safety
Shriram Santhanagopalan, Ph.D., Engineer, Transportation and Hydrogen Systems Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
In order to better understand the behavior of lithium-ion batteries under mechanical abuse, a coupled modeling methodology encompassing the mechanical, electrical and thermal response is presented for predicting short-circuit under external crush. Predicted
damage of the individual layers within the cell under an indentation test are compared against experimental results. The electrical-thermal simulation predicts the current density and temperature distribution in a reasonable manner.
3:15 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
3:45 Grand Opening Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
4:30 Monitoring the Strain Evolution of Lithium-Ion Battery Electrodes Using an Optical Fiber Bragg Grating Sensor
Chang-Jun Bae, Senior Researcher, Korea Institute of Material Science (KIMS), formally
working at Palo Alto Research Center (PARC)
More advanced characterization and developmental tools are essential to improve performance and safety of Li-ion batteries. As a practical solution for in situ monitoring of realistic battery cells, we have implanted
fiber optic sensors within the individual electrodes to monitor the internal electrode strain during cycling, demonstrating the feasibility and utility of FBG sensors to be used as diagnostic tools.
5:00 Using Instrumented Li-Ion Batteries to Understand Battery Performance
Rohit Bhagat, Associate Professor, University of Warwick
We present our work related to embedding sensors within commercially available cylindrical format cells. The types of sensors include reference electrodes for measuring half-cell voltages during operation and optical fibres to measure thermally induced
strain. Embedding these sensors is not trivial as the performance of the cell must be unaffected by the modifications. The embedded sensors must survive the cells’ internal environment. These instrumented cells are a powerful tool to investigate
battery performance such as fast charging and aging.
5:30 Transition to Breakout Discussions
5:35 Interactive Breakout Discussion Groups
Participants choose a specific breakout discussion group to join. Each group has a moderator to ensure focused discussions around key issues within the topic. This format allows participants to meet potential collaborators, share examples from their work,
vet ideas with peers, and be part of a group problem-solving endeavor. The discussions provide an informal exchange of ideas and are not meant to be a corporate or specific product discussion.
TABLE 1: Battery History from Bangkok to Lithium-Ion
Shep Wolsky, Ph.D., Founder, International Battery Seminar & Exhibit
TABLE 2: Understanding the Impact of Electrolyte on Battery Performance
Sam Jaffe, Managing Director, Cairn ERA, Cairn Energy Research Advisors
TABLE 3: Improving Li-Ion Energy Density and Cell Safety & Stability
Carl Thoemmes, Vice President, Sales, Silatronix, Inc.
TABLE 4: Cell Manufacturing
Raf Goossens, Ph.D., CEO, Global Corporate Management, PEC
TABLE 5: The Patent Landscape across the Battery Industry: Patent Acquisition, Enforcement, and Licensing Strategies
Howard L. Lim, Associate, Intellectual Property, Vinson & Elkins LLP
TABLE 6: Voluntary or Mandatory or Someplace in Between…What Do I Really Have to Do to Ship My Small Li-Ion Battery Globally?
Cynthia Millsaps, President and CEO, Energy Assurance LLC
TABLE 7: Lithium Battery Transportation Regulations; What Are Hurdles, Research and Development Areas?
Steve Hwang, Ph.D., Chemist, Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety, US Department of Transportation
TABLE 8: Lithium Battery Transportation; What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You, How to Stay Ahead of the Curve and Be Successful
Thomas (TJ) Leech, III, CHMM, FedEx Express
TABLE 9: Promoting a Strong U.S. Manufacturing Base for Energy Storage in the U.S.
Susan Babinec, Senior Commercialization Advisor, ARPA-E, U.S. Department of Energy
TABLE 10: Thermal Runaway Propagation Prevention and Mitigation Through Passive Vaporizing Heat Sink
Michael Mo, Co-Founder & CEO, KULR Technology
TABLE 11: Silicon Anodes and Cells
Frederic Bonhomme, Ph.D., Senior Director, Research & Engineering, Enevate
6:35 Welcome Reception in the Exhibit Hall
with Poster Viewing
7:30 Close of Day
Wednesday, March 22
8:00 am Registration and Morning Coffee
8:20 Chairperson’s Remarks
Ahmad Pesaran, Ph.D., Group Manager, Energy Storage Group, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
8:25 Redox Shuttle Additives towards Safer Lithium-Ion Batteries
Lu Zhang, Scientist, Energy Storage Research, Argonne National Laboratory
In this talk, a molecular engineer approach of redox shuttle molecules will be discussed, which will introduce the stepwise evolution of ANL family of redox shuttle additives that have been developed at Argonne National Laboratory. Quite a few additives
will be discussed in detail to exemplify the development progress. For instance, ANL-8 was developed by asymmetrical incorporation of ether chain to the dimethoxybenzene base. Due to its asymmetric structure and strong polarity, ANL-8 is liquid at
room temperature, which dramatically improves its solubility and overall compatibility. ANL-8 delivers excellent overcharge protection to LFP lithium-ion cells.
8:55 Mechanical Abuse Tolerant Li-Ion Batteries
Michael Naguib, Research Staff, Materials Science and Technology, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Herein a new electrode design, guided by modeling, that is intended to reduce the likelihood of thermal damage in the event of mechanical abuse will be discussed. A proof-of-concept showed that upon impact or deformation, such as in a vehicle accident,
batteries’ electrodes break into electrically isolated segments limiting the current, therefore thermal-runaway can be avoided.
9:25 Coffee Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
10:10 Thermal Propagation Modeling in Lithium Ion Modules with and without PCM
Ahmad Pesaran, Ph.D., Group Manager, Energy Storage Group, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
10:40 How the Electric Vehicles Catch Fire After Wading or Soaked in Water
Henry Mao, Ph.D., Youllion Battery Ltd., China
This talk relates a potential public hazardous situation for EV’s and PHEV’s. Approximately 16 of the $100,000+ Fisker Karma extended-range luxury hybrids caught fire and burned to the ground after Hurricane Sandy’s storm surge breached
the port submerged the cars in Port Newark on Nov 21, 2012. Many more pure electric buses and cars caught fire in deep water in many Chinese city streets after heavy rain with failed sewage systems in the summer of 2016. No scientific answers from
battery community on why the EV cars caught fire after soaked in water was published up to now. This talk will show solid evidence to explain why it happens and suggest a few preventative measures.
11:10 Luncheon Presentation (Sponsorship Opportunity Available) or Enjoy Lunch on Your Own
12:40 pm Opening Remarks
12:45 Battery Innovator Award
12:55 Gigafactory Material Sourcing and Cell Production
Kurt Kelty, Senior Director, Cell Supply Chain & Business Development, Tesla Motors
This presentation will examine the status on material sourcing and sustainable material sourcing for the Gigafactory. In addition, the production of cells for energy products manufactured at the Gigafactory including the Powerwall and Powerpack will be
discussed.
1:25 Surprising Chemistry in Li-Ion Cells
Jeff Dahn, Ph.D., FRSC, Professor of Physics and Atmospheric Science, NSERC/Tesla Canada Industrial Research Chair, and Canada
Research Chair, Dalhousie University
It is important to increase the operating voltage of NMC Li-ion cells to obtain higher energy density. However, the electrolyte reacts with the positive electrode at high voltage. Using simple experiments involving only pouch bags, we show that the products
of these reactions are extremely harmful to the positive electrode. This talk demonstrates how these harmful reactions at the positive electrode can be virtually stopped, leading to superb NMC Li-ion cells that can operate at high potential.
1:55 Advances within the BYD EDV Program and Its Technology
Xi Shen, Ph.D., Senior Director and General Manager, BYD EDV Batteries, China
WenFeng Jiang, Ph.D., R&D General Manager, BYD EDV Batteries, China
The high demand EDV for transportation worldwide has created significant market opportunities for BYD. Since the earlier F3DM and E6, BYD has broadly expanded its EDV business and technology to various fields including public transportation (e6 and
E-bus), private transportation (Qin, Tang, etc.) and special transportation (forklift, city logistics vehicle, city cleaning vehicle, etc.) This talk shares the progress of the EDV program.
2:25 Charging Forward: Explosive Global Growth in the Battery Industry – Opportunities and Challenges Ahead
Christina Lampe-Onnerud, Ph.D., CEO, Founder, Chairman, Cadenza Innovation, LLC;
Founder, Boston Power
This talk will highlight insights on the emerging global ecosystem that is rapidly developing complex systems and opening doors to innovators who are teaming up with established battery and non–battery players. The presentation will inspire
the audience to stay true to data and yet push the design envelope for high performance, low cost, safe energy storage solutions.
2:55 Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
3:40 End of Conference