Cited by 165Advanced Battery Technologies ResearchAdvancements in Battery MaterialsThermal and Kinetic Analysis

Thermal runaway propagation in automotive lithium-ion batteries with NMC-811 and LFP cathodes: Safety requirements and impact on system integration

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Schöberl, Jan, Ank, Manuel, Schreiber, Markus, Wassiliadis, Nikolaos, Lienkamp, Markus·2024·eTransportation

Abstract

Thermal runaway propagation mitigation is a prerequisite in battery development for electric vehicles to meet legal requirements and ensure vehicle occupants’ safety. Thermal runaway propagation depends on many factors, e.g., cell spacing, intermediate materials, and the entire cell stack setup. Furthermore, the choice of cell chemistry plays a decisive role in the safety design of a battery system. However, many studies considering cell chemistry only focus on the cell level or neglect the energetic impacts of safety measures on system integration. This leads to a neglect of the conflict of objectives between battery safety and energy density. In this article, a comprehensive analysis of the thermal runaway propagation in lithium-ion batteries with NMC-811 and LFP cathodes from a Mini Cooper SE and Tesla Model 3 SR+ is presented. The focus is set on the identification of differences in battery safety, the derivation of safety requirements, and the evaluation of their impact on system integration. A comparative analysis identified significantly higher safety requirements for Graphite|NMC-811 than for Graphite|LFP cell chemistries. Regarding cell energy, thermal runaway reaction speed is nine times faster in NMC-811 cells and five times faster considering the whole propagation interval than LFP cells. However, since LFP cell chemistries have significantly lower energy densities than ternary cell chemistries, it must be verified whether the disadvantages in energy density can be compensated by advanced system integration. An analysis of cell-to-pack ratios for both cell chemistries has revealed that, based on average values, the gravimetric disadvantages are reduced to 16%, and the volumetric disadvantages can be completely compensated for at the pack level. However, future research should further focus on this issue as an accurate safety-related design depending on cell chemistry could enable a cost-benefit evaluation under the constraints of safety standards in the development of batteries for electric vehicles.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.etran.2023.100305

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  • The direct comparison of NMC and LFP carbon footprints should be approached with caution because calculations were first made on a mass basis before being converted to a capacity basis, and varying innovation rates will affect future carbon footprint comparisons.

    “However, this direct comparison should be approached with caution, as calculations were first made on a mass basis before being converted to a capacity basis, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Although this study also provides CFs on a per-kilogram basis in Supplementary Figs. 5 and 6 and employs up-to-date cell energy densities for conversion35, the varying rates and directions of innovation at the cell”
  • The energy densities for conversion are taken as scalars from recent work35 and are in line with the original work22 from 2021 that, in turn, builds the basis for the current Ecoinvent inventory (NMC: 0.25 kWh kg−1 and LFP: 0.16 kWh kg−1).

    “The energy densities for conversion are taken as scalars from recent work35 and are in line with the original work22 from 2021 that, in turn, builds the basis for the current Ecoinvent inventory (NMC: 0.25 kWh kg−1 and LFP: 0.16 kWh kg−1).”

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Authors
Schöberl, J., Ank, M., Schreiber, M., Wassiliadis, N., & Lienkamp, M.
Affiliations
Technical University of Munich (DE)
Corresponding author
Schöberl, Jan
Venue
eTransportation
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2024-01
Volume
19
Pages
100305
ISSN
2590-1168 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4389830957
Cited by
165
References
82
Citations by year
2026: 64 · 2025: 73 · 2024: 27 · 2023: 1
FWCI
11.95
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • eTransportation (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • mediaTUM – the media and publications repository of the Technical University Munich (Technical University Munich) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Technische Universität München
  • Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (ZF4648103CL9)
  • Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz
  • Bundesministerium fur Bildung und Forschung Dienststelle Berlin
  • Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (03XP0362C, 03XP0425)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Automotive Engineering › Advanced Battery Technologies Research
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Electrical and Electronic Engineering › Advancements in Battery Materials
  • Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Materials Chemistry › Thermal and Kinetic Analysis
Keywords
thermal runaway propagation, lithium-ion batteries, NCM811 cathode, LiFePO4 cathode, electric vehicle battery safety, energy density, safety requirements, battery pack design

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