Notice: Function _load_textdomain_just_in_time was called incorrectly. Translation loading for the acf domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home/ulxplorlabs/public_html/site/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6131

Warning: session_start(): Session cannot be started after headers have already been sent in /home/ulxplorlabs/public_html/site/assets/themes/fw-parent/functions.php on line 10
The Science of Thermal Runaway – UL Xplorlabs

Phones, game consoles, electric cars, hoverboards… So many things we use every day rely on lithium-ion batteries. What makes these batteries so useful, and what are the potential downsides?

Let’s explore the science of

Thermal Runaway

Get startedView assets in this module

Overview

We use lithium-ion batteries to power a multitude of devices in our lives, like ebikes, hoverboards, and cell phones. The chemistry of a lithium-ion battery makes it powerful, small, and portable. This same chemistry also presents a risk: the risk of thermal runaway. This footage is provided courtesy of UL Research Institute’s Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI). It depicts their actual research quantifying the hazards of thermal runaway in lithium-ion battery-powered e-mobility devices

What do you notice when you observe this experiment? What do you wonder? How can we prevent this from happening?

Welcome to the Science of Thermal Runaway. We’re here to engineer solutions. To do that, first we must learn more about the problems themselves.

Supporting Organizations
Explore this pathway
i
Thermal Runaway
1
Batteries
2
Physical Damage
3
Overcharge
4
Spread
5
Scenario

What is thermal runaway?

Thermal runaway is the problem we’re trying to solve. In order to solve this problem, we need to understand it.

Explore

How does a lithium-ion battery work?

You know that thermal runaway is a phenomenon that can affect lithium-ion batteries. In order to understand thermal runaway, it’s important to understand what a lithium-ion battery is – and how it works.

Explore

Why are battery-powered devices designed to prevent physical damage?

In most instances, lithium-ion batteries function normally, charging and discharging energy without issue. Thermal runaway can occur when something alters the normal function of a battery by physically damaging it.

Explore

How does overcharge relate to thermal runaway?

Damage is not the only cause of thermal runaway. Another potential cause is overcharge.

Explore

How does thermal runaway spread?

A lithium-ion battery is made of multiple lithium-ion cells. Often, lithium-ion batteries are stored and transported near many other lithium-ion batteries. Because of this, it is important to know what will happen to nearby cells if one cell enters thermal runaway.  

Explore

Solve the scenario

With your updated understanding of thermal runaway, it’s time to revisit the thermal runaway scene we saw at the beginning of this exploration. You might observe multiple potential causes for the thermal runaway.

Explore