Saskatoon synchrotron research could help rechargable batteries stop draining, exploding

Research at the Canadian Light Source synchrotron could help stop a big battery problem before it starts.

These days, many gadgets, from hoverboards to cellphones to electric cars use lithium-ion batteries. The rechargable batteries can hold big charges for hours, something that's more and more important in the tech world.

But there's a problem. Every so often, these batteries pillow. The components inside the battery generates gas, which makes the outside of the battery swell. Pillowing can not only decrease battery performance, it can cause the battery to leak, or, in some cases, explode.

That's where Toby Bond comes in. An energy storage researcher at the synchrotron, Bond is using the machine to make highly-detailed CT scans on the batteries before and after pillowing happens.

Many of these lithium-ion batteries are built by a jellyroll process, where electrodes are wrapped in a circle. The process creates many energy producing layers, but Bond also found the jellyroll may have a significant role to play in pillowing.

"Basically, if you have these kinds of defects in the jellyroll before use, they get more pronounced," said Bond. "These results suggest that if you can prevent these defects in the manufacturing process, then the electrode assembly should be able to better tolerate pillowing if and when it does occur."

Bond found that most of the battery problems happen in the flat parts of the jellyroll, especially where there were already defects in the battery's shape. 

He hopes that the research can be used to improve battery design and how they respond to stressful conditions.