Unveiling hidden dangers: How manufacturing defects threaten lithium-ion battery safety

As electric vehicles surge onto our roads and portable devices dominate our daily lives, lithium-ion batteries have become the invisible powerhouses of modern technology. Yet beneath their sleek exteriors lies a critical vulnerability: manufacturing defects that can transform these energy storage marvels into potential safety hazards. A recently published review sheds light on this pressing issue, revealing how tiny metal particles, especially copper contaminants, can trigger catastrophic battery failures.

Lithium-ion batteries dominate modern energy storage, powering applications from smartphones to electric vehicles. Their high energy density and long lifespan have made them indispensable. However, the complex manufacturing process involving multiple materials and precise assembly steps creates opportunities for defects. Such imperfections, ranging from electrode misalignment to metal contamination, can accelerate battery degradation and, in worst-case scenarios, cause thermal runaway, a chain reaction leading to fires or explosions. The stakes are particularly high as global automotive recalls linked to battery defects have affected millions of EVs, underscoring the urgent need for deeper understanding and effective mitigation strategies.

This comprehensive review identifies metal foreign matters as a primary culprit behind manufacturing-related battery failures. Copper particles, the most common contaminants, can dissolve in battery's electrolyte and redeposit on critical components, creating internal short circuits. The review further reveals that even microscopic copper particles can initiate a "dissolution + deposition" process that compromises battery integrity over time.

In addition, the systematic classification of defects provides manufacturers a roadmap for quality control improvements. By understanding how different metals, including iron, chromium, and aluminum, behave inside batteries, the industry can develop targeted detection methods and prevention strategies. This knowledge has already contributed to enhanced screening protocols that can identify defect batteries before they reach consumers, potentially preventing numerous safety incidents.

This review also opens exciting avenues for technological advancement. Artificial intelligence and machine learning can analyze real-time battery performance data to detect early warning signs of internal short circuits, enabling predictive maintenance and preventing failures before they occur. Likewise, digital twin technology, through creating virtual replicas of batteries, allows manufacturers to simulate defect scenarios and optimize production processes without relying solely on physical testing.

Equally promising are emerging internal sensing technologies. By embedding miniature voltage, temperature, and pressure sensors within battery structures, future batteries could self-diagnose and alert users to potential problems. Additionally, visualization techniques similar to those used for studying lithium dendrite growth could provide unprecedented insights into how metal contaminants evolve into safety hazards, revolutionizing our understanding of battery failure mechanisms.

Overall, this research represents a critical step toward safer, more reliable energy storage systems. By systematically analyzing manufacturing defects and their consequences, the study provides both immediate practical benefits such as improved quality control and detection methods while also outlining long-term strategic directions for the industry. As we accelerate toward an electrified future, understanding and eliminating these hidden dangers becomes not just a technical challenge but a societal imperative. The insights gained from this work will help ensure that the batteries powering our sustainable future are not only powerful but also safe, thereby safeguarding both lives and the tremendous promise of clean energy technology.

Reference

Author:

Wei Chen ^a, Xuebin Han ^b, Yue Pan ^b, Yuebo Yuan ^b, Xiangdong Kong ^b, Lishuo Liu ^b, Yukun Sun ^b, Weixiang Shen ^c, Rui Xiong ^a

Title of original paper: Defects in lithium-ion batteries: From origins to safety risks

Article link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2773153724000872

Journal:  Green Energy and Intelligent Transportation

DOI: 10.1016/j.geits.2024.100235

Affiliations:

^a School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China

^b State Key Laboratory of Intelligent Green Vehicle and Mobility, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China

^c School of Science, Computing and Engineering Technologies, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Victoria 3122, Australia