South Carolina Patent of the Month – November 2023
Soteria Battery Innovation Group, Inc. (Soteria), a consortium for the battery industry, has been granted a patent for their battery technology that aims to improve the safety of all batteries. The company is focused on two components that go inside a battery to dramatically improve safety.
The current state of lithium batteries, prevalent in a wide array of applications from electric vehicles to consumer electronics, faces significant safety challenges, with instances of short circuits leading to high temperatures and, in extreme cases, fires or explosions.
Soteria’s inventive solution lies in the current collector, a crucial element that typically consists of thick metal panels such as aluminum or copper. The design advocates for a thin film base current collector with a conductive coating on a polymeric substrate.
This innovation is not merely about a thinner current collector; it’s about leveraging its unique properties to act as an internal fuse within the battery. Traditional batteries, when subjected to a short circuit, often experience uncontrolled discharge, generating excessive heat and leading to catastrophic outcomes. Soteria’s current collector reacts differently. Its reduced thickness and specific structural composition lead to an extremely high current density in the event of a short circuit.
When a high current density triggers an instantaneous reaction on the current collector’s surface, the conductive material undergoes oxidation, transforming into a non-conductive substance, essentially creating a barrier to further current flow. This immediate response curtails the short circuit, preventing runaway currents and the associated high temperatures that could compromise the battery’s safety.
Moreover, this innovative design doesn’t compromise the overall functionality of the battery during normal operation. The localized nonconductive material created during a short circuit is minimal, leaving the majority of the current collector intact and operational. This means that the battery remains viable, and the risk of thermal runaway is significantly reduced.
Soteria’s invention couldn’t come at a more crucial time. With the increasing prevalence of lithium batteries, safety concerns have become paramount. Instances of battery-related accidents, from smartphones to electric vehicles, have underscored the need for robust safety mechanisms. The thin film base current collector, functioning as an internal fuse, presents a solution that could redefine the safety standards for lithium batteries.
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