2020 NTSB study of electric vehicle fires found most incidents are caused by the thermal runaway of a damaged battery *
Salem, MA—July 26, 2021 – Titan Advanced Energy Solutions (Titan), focused on using ultrasound technology to help make batteries run better, safer, and longer, received nearly $1.1 million in funding from the U.S. DOE to develop an early warning system that detects hazardous conditions in lithium-ion batteries. This award follows on the heels of Titan’s 2020 Phase I award to build a prototype of the device. The new funding will be used to build a production ready system.
Lithium-ion batteries are critical to energy storage for renewable energy and electric vehicles but there are concerns about their safety. A number of fires and explosions of late prompted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to recently issue guidance to owners of certain model electric vehicles to park their cars outside and away from their homes after charging due to the risk of fire.
To make the dream of electrification and decarbonization a reality we must address battery safety, said Shawn Murphy, CEO of Titan. Our team is proud to be developing ultrasound-based solutions that will drive the change needed to ensure we can identify dangerous battery conditions hours to days before they become hazardous.
Existing battery management systems provide warnings of impending failure just minutes to seconds before there is a fire or other dangerous situation, which is often not enough time to stop the hazardous situation from occurring. Titan’s early warning system uses proven ultrasound technology to detect abnormal and hazardous battery conditions in real time, hours to days in advance of a dangerous situation, and generates actionable warnings. These conditions may include thermal runaways, a chain reaction within a battery cell that can be very difficult to stop once it has started.
Statista, a global business data platform, projects that between 2020 and 2030, the global demand for lithium-ion batteries will increase elevenfold to over two terawatt hours. Much of this growth can be attributed to the rising popularity of electric vehicles which predominantly rely on lithium-ion batteries for power. Ensuring safety is a key issue to EV adoption.
The Phase II awards from the DOE’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program go to support the research and development of innovative clean energy technologies toward commercialization.
The Titan award is one of 110 innovative projects from American small businesses and entrepreneurs that the DOE is funding for a total of $127 million. The projects will help tackle the climate crisis by harnessing market-oriented solutions and emerging technologies.
More information about the awards is available from DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the following link: https://www.energy.gov/eere/articles/department-energy-awards-127-million-bring-innovative-clean-energy-technologies.
About Titan Advanced Energy Solutions (Titan)
At Titan, we’ve engineered a breakthrough technology by applying the proven science of ultrasound to lithium-ion batteries. We delve deep into the inner workings of batteries to provide intelligence on any battery’s state of health, capacity, and state of charge—at any stage of its life—in real time. It’s a game changer for the battery industry, giving manufacturers, EV and consumer electronics companies, maintenance professionals, second-life integrators and recyclers a powerful tool for battery management. And it leads to safer batteries. Greener batteries. Longer lasting and better performing batteries. All at a fraction of the cost of legacy battery technologies. For more information visit www.titanaes.com.
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Contact
Joyce McMahon McMahon Communications joyce@mcmahoncomm.com (978) 430-8847
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