In this article, we'll first define battery quality and related concepts such as battery failure and reliability. Finally, we'll outline one approach that our startup, Glimpse, sees for this problem.
Is battery quality a determinant of battery failure?
In summary, both senses of battery quality (defectiveness and conformance) are critical determinants of battery failure and thus the financial success of cell and EV production endeavors. We revisit battery quality in the “Managing battery quality in production” section.
Why should you use exponent for a battery failure analysis?
Exponent's understanding of all battery chemistries and their applications allows for streamlined failure analysis investigations to quickly arrive at the root cause of battery failures.
Throughout this section, we use the example of electrode overhangs (subsequently referred to as simply “overhang”) as a canonical example of a battery quality issue. Insufficient overhang may cause lithium plating, which may cause an internal short and, in extreme cases, thermal runaway 52, 74, 75.
Why do lithium-ion batteries fail?
These articles explain the background of Lithium-ion battery systems, key issues concerning the types of failure, and some guidance on how to identify the cause(s) of the failures. Failure can occur for a number of external reasons including physical damage and exposure to external heat, which can lead to thermal runaway.
What causes a battery to fail?
Beck et al. 80 reviewed the primary drivers of nonconformance in batteries and battery production. Lack of conformance to the design may not directly cause battery failure; for instance, a key quality indicator such as the distribution of cell energy may be larger than desired but still fall within an acceptable band.
Are battery quality issues affecting the reliability of battery-powered devices?
Aside from headline-grabbing safety events, battery quality issues can have outsize impacts on the reliability of battery-powered devices (Fig. 1b). For instance, an EV pack typically consists of hundreds or thousands of cells arranged in series and in parallel, often combined into modules.