24M unveils new test data for Impervio battery separator; obstructing dendrite formation for safer batteries

24M unveiled new testing data for Impervio, its battery separator that addresses the growing concern of battery safety for electric vehicles (EV), energy storage systems (ESS) and consumer applications. The new data coincides with mounting concerns after recent battery fires in the United States and internationally.

Impervio, announced in January 2024, in addition to its other benefits, addresses the safety risk of overcharging. Overcharging is when a battery exceeds its safe charging threshold yet continues to charge and overheats—which has caused numerous EV fires over the past year.

Overcharging can lead to dendrite formation and an internal short, which can result in a battery fire and/or explosion. Impervio obstructs dendrite propagation by controlling the cell at the individual electrode level, preventing dendrites from propagating and enabling early fault detection.

The technology can prevent thermal runaway by monitoring the cell’s electrochemistry and enabling the implementation of a failsafe in the event of a potential short.

In new testing conducted at 24M labs, the company compared performance and safety between two different battery pouch cells—a 10Ah high nickel NMC/Graphite pouch cell with an Impervio separator and another off-the-shelf nickel NMC graphite pouch cell with a conventional separator.

Both cells were brought to a fully charged state and then advanced to 100% overcapacity or twice the manufacturers specified maximum voltage. The cells with Impervio demonstrated robust performance without shorting or overheating with a full hour of overcharge.

In contrast, the off-the-shelf cells overheated consistently with dendrite-caused micro shorts occurring after 15 minutes of overcharging and the cell exploding into a massive fire after 38 minutes.

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