Off-Gas Detection
XTRALIS LI-ION TAMER®
Li-ion batteries are crucial for utility-scale Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESSs), supporting power grid transitions towards efficiency.
However, these batteries can be a fire hazard without proper safety precautions due to thermal runaway risks. Current fire safety measures, often insufficient, mitigate but don’t prevent fires and lack early detection capabilities for thermal runaway. This is where off-gas detection technology steps in. It enhances the safety of BESSs by providing early warnings of battery off-gassing, allowing operators to preemptively act and potentially avoid thermal runaway incidents, ensuring continuous power delivery.
Li-ion battery fires happen in 4 stages.
Dangers associated with existing technology
EXISTING TECH CANNOT
monitor single cell temperatures/voltages (BMS)
EXISTING TECH CANNOT
activate UNTIL thermal runaway has occurred (fire detection/suppression)
The Li-ion Tamer GEN 3 is a device that detects the venting of battery electrolyte solvent vapours (off-gassing phase) that occurs early in the failure mode of lithium-ion batteries (LIB). The early detection of this event allows proper mitigation steps to be taken
to avoid a catastrophic thermal runaway failure.
Off-Gas Sensor Average Activation Times
6 mins 11 secs
BEFORE THERMAL RUNAWAY
6 mins 18 secs
BEFORE CELL VOLTAGE SENSORS
6 mins 39 secs
BEFORE LEL SENSORS
The Li-ion Tamer GEN 3 system provides the earliest possible warning of thermal runaway, enabling users to reduce the risk of thermal runway and create safer and more efficient operations. The Li-ion Tamer GEN 3 system is designed to be easy to install and configure, consisting of several components – sensors, hub, power switch, network switch, controller.
Each sensing node comprises an off-gas sensor with advanced algorithms making it acutely sensitive to detecting battery electrolyte vapours (off-gassing compounds), does not require calibration, is compatible with all LIB form factors and chemistries, and has a lifetime comparable to a typical LIB system. The sensing node also includes temperature and humidity sensors for environmental monitoring.
Sensing nodes are networked by the hubs and switches to the controller, which is the central point for managing and monitoring the entire system. The controller has relays and Modbus TCP/IP outputs that connect to the BMS or other control systems.