UK-based Eatron Technologies says vehicle manufacturers can limit the risk of EV battery fires with the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in advanced battery management software.
According to the company, the causes of battery failure are complex, and often involve a combination of factors.
One of the most common causes – lithium plating – occurs when metallic lithium deposits form around the anode.
This is most likely during fast charging at low temperatures, and over time these deposits erode the performance of the battery.
Left unchecked, this can lead to the growth of dendrites, needle-like structures that can pierce through the separator between the anode and the cathode, causing a short circuit within the cell.
This in turn leads to a rapid self-discharge that can initiate thermal runaway, a self-sustaining chain reaction that is difficult to extinguish.
Detecting lithium plating without opening the battery cell and examining the electrodes – which is largely impossible once mounted in a vehicle – is a challenge.
However, by using AI, Eatron says it is possible to not only detect lithium plating far more effectively, but accurately predict when it might occur.
Dr. Umut Genc, CEO at Eatron Technologies said, “As an industry, we need to ensure the number of catastrophic battery failures reaches zero, and then stays there.
“Our intelligent, connected and safe automotive-grade battery management software has demonstrated that AI holds the key to achieving this.
“Using a technique called feature extraction, we transform the raw health data coming from the battery into a format that makes anomalies easier to identify.
“By combining this with our proprietary AI pipeline that accurately captures battery behaviour, our AI diagnostics can predict cell failures before they occur, with up to 90% accuracy and zero false positives.”
