Stanford's extra salty electrolyte makes for flameproof batteries

Researchers are working to improve battery technology in all kinds of ways, and among the most important is addressing the issue of flammability. Scientists have cooked up a new electrolyte recipe that tackles this in a highly promising way, leaning on extra salt content to circumvent problematic chemical reactions.

Lithium-ion batteries in our phones, laptops and electric vehicles carry some risk of fire because they generate heat as they operate. We’ve seen many interesting approaches to managing that risk, including integrated flame retardants, warning systems that alert users to overheating, and kill switches that shut the device down before that can happen.

Many promising solutions center on the combustible liquid electrolytes that carry the electrical current between the battery’s two electrodes. Defects and rising temperatures can cause these electrolytes to swell up and/or ignite, which can then result in flaming smartphones or electric vehicles. This process normally kicks off at around 140 °F (60 °C), where solvents in the electrolyte begin to evaporate and turn from liquid to gas.

“One of the biggest challenges in the battery industry is this safety issue, so there’s a lot of effort going into trying to make a battery electrolyte that is safe,” said Rachel Z Huang, a graduate student at Stanford University and first author of the new study.

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