The DOE’s Oak Ridge Nationwide Laboratory (ORNL) has licensed a brand new battery electrolyte expertise to Safire Expertise Group, a battery tech startup previously generally known as BTRY.

The gathering of 5 patented applied sciences is meant to be a drop-in additive for lithium-ion batteries. It’s designed to forestall explosions and hearth from impression by altering the electrolyte from liquid to strong.

In a lithium-ion battery, a separator, sometimes a skinny piece of plastic, retains the 2 electrodes aside. If the battery is broken and the plastic layer fails, the electrodes can come into contact and trigger the liquid electrolyte to catch hearth. ORNL’s Protected Affect Resistant Electrolyte (SAFIRE) solidifies underneath the impression, stopping contact between electrodes. Based on ORNL, the expertise can considerably scale back automobile weight and enhance vary by eradicating the necessity for heavy protecting shielding across the battery.

“Bettering battery expertise is essential to constructing a clear power future for our nation,” mentioned Susan Hubbard, ORNL Deputy for Science and Expertise. “This expertise has implications for a number of industries, in the end making battery techniques safer, extra environment friendly and extra secure.”

Supply: ORNL