The Electrochemical Safety Research Institute (ESRI) has been at the forefront of safety science research into lithium-ion batteries. As the ESRI team works to advance safer energy storage through science, close collaboration with experts in electrochemical safety research is essential to helping us address pressing global safety challenges and make progress toward a safer, more sustainable world.
To encourage collaboration and share research insights and knowledge with a wide audience, ESRI collaborated with The Electrochemical Society to publish a focus issue titled, Journey of Lithium-Ion: Performance, Safety, and Lifespan, under its flagship journal, Journal of The Electrochemical Society. The focus issue – a collection of journal papers by researchers, scientists, and subject matter experts from the electrochemical field – showcases facts and safety parameters of lithium-ion battery chemistry, including thermal runaway and fast-charging, and the wide and varied nature of components such as cathodes, anodes, and electrolytes available today.
Lithium-ion battery chemistry was first found to be promising in the 1950s but became a viable commercial option in the 1990s. Three decades later, this chemistry is still being optimized with discoveries in cathode and anode materials, electrolytes, and separator technologies, as well as with design engineering that helps with making cells provide higher energy and power densities.
In recent years, renewable energy technologies have emerged as one of the highest priority solutions to climate change. However, safety issues involving lithium-ion batteries have focused research into improving the stability and performance of battery materials and its components.
All these topics and more are covered in the focus issue’s articles and many of them are open to all readers. Read the published papers now.
