New Cosmos Electric - Revolutionizing Lithium Battery Fire Detection: A Laser-Based Solution

In recent years, lithium-ion batteries have become the backbone of modern technology, powering everything from home appliances to electric vehicles (EVs). However, this widespread adoption has brought with it a significant challenge: the risk of fire incidents stemming from these energy sources. As we rely more on lithium batteries, the need for effective fire detection and prevention has never been more critical.

Development Background

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) with large electric capacities have been widely used in home appliances and electric vehicles (EVs). However, there is growing concern in society that LIBs may cause serious fire incidents due to poor quality and/or misuse. Fire incidents in large-scale applications, such as the seaborne transportation of EVs and data center backup systems, are particularly concerning.

Therefore, it is vital to monitor fires from LIBs so that prompt action can be taken when needed. Sniffer-type gas sensing systems have been proposed to detect gas emissions from compromised LIBs, but deploying many gas sensors for each LIB may not be feasible in large-scale applications.

Overview of the developed technology

For the first time, a laser-based remote gas detection system tuned to carbon monoxide (CO), developed by Tokyo Gas Engineering Solutions Co, Ltd and others, has been shown to be effective in detecting LIB fires. Since the laser system can detect CO molecules along the laser beam path, CO gas plumes from compromised LIBs can be effectively detected. It is important to note that a large-scale LIB facility can easily be monitored by only a few laser systems instead of many sniffer alarms.

In this latest experiment, the company heated and ignited a lithium-ion battery in its PLUSCO Lab. Lab, a fire testing laboratory , and successfully detected the carbon monoxide that was generated (Figure 2) using a laser-type carbon monoxide detector(Figure 1) developed by Tokyo Gas Engineering Solutions Co., Ltd. and others .

Future plans

We plan to commercialize this product in cooperation with our partners. Technical issues including alarming logic and robust system design must be carefully considered as safety is our top priority. New Cosmos Electric Co., Ltd. will continue to provide safety to society with our advanced LIB fire detection technology.