Experts suggest that the development of safety standards should be actively promoted and vigorously promoted. For products that cannot pass safety standards, strict measures should be taken to prevent their listing. This is one of the ways to solve the safety issues of lithium-ion batteries and reduce accidents.

With the rapid improvement of lithium-ion battery technology, its application fields are becoming wider and wider. While consumers enjoy the convenience that lithium-ion batteries bring to their lives, they are also experiencing panic caused by lithium-ion battery fires and explosions. Therefore, there is a high level of attention paid to the safety performance of lithium-ion batteries, and it is also expected that relevant departments will formulate safety standards for lithium-ion batteries as soon as possible.

Safety of lithium-ion batteries is highly concerned

The safety design of lithium-ion batteries includes many aspects, including battery safety structure design, selection of safety materials, safety protection function design, and planned safety verification, which run through the entire process of lithium-ion battery design. Su Jinran, Deputy Chief Engineer of Tianjin Lishen Battery Co., Ltd., stated in an interview with China Electronics News that product safety begins with product design. The selection of electrode materials, separators, and electrolytes with better safety is the primary consideration in battery safety design. In terms of battery positive electrode materials, ternary materials, lithium manganese oxide, and lithium iron phosphate have better safety than lithium cobalt oxide and lithium nickel oxide. These materials have been widely used in battery design and can achieve good safety performance.

He stated that the research and development and production of positive and negative electrode materials and electrolytes in China have reached a scale, which can basically meet the requirements of lithium-ion battery design and production. In addition, the application research of some safety coating materials has become practical, injecting new impetus into the improvement of the safety performance of lithium-ion batteries. In China, there is still a need to increase investment and follow-up in this research and application work. He introduced that Tianjin Lishen Battery Co., Ltd. is dedicated to the research and production of lithium-ion batteries, and the product quality and safety are widely recognized in the industry. At present, the material application platform of the company's lithium-ion battery covers the material systems of lithium cobalt oxide, ternary materials, lithium manganese oxide, and lithium iron phosphate. The product series involves cylindrical, square, polymer, and high-capacity power lithium batteries. In terms of improving the safety performance of batteries, the company has established safety design guidelines, safety production process guidelines, and product safety testing guidelines. These three major guidelines regulate the design, production, and inspection processes of products, ensuring the safety of batteries.

Kenzo Nakata, Vice President of Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. Mobile Energy Company, stated that all components and materials used in battery manufacturing play an important role in the safety of lithium-ion batteries. They are now taking measures to combine components and materials to ensure the safety of such batteries. In addition, in order to fully utilize components and materials, it is important to emphasize advanced industrial production technology and quality control technology to improve safety. To ensure the safety of lithium-ion batteries, it is necessary to consider both the battery and the electrical equipment comprehensively. At the same time, the safety of batteries needs to be jointly addressed by electronic device manufacturers and battery manufacturers. Nakagai Kenzo explained.

Standard formulation should be based on independent innovation

The safety issues of lithium-ion batteries should be the same as food safety, and have received attention from relevant national ministries and local governments in China. The government should actively promote the development of safety standards and vigorously promote them. For products that cannot pass safety standards, strict measures should be taken to prevent their listing. This is one of the ways to control the safety issues of lithium-ion batteries and reduce accidents.

Due to the complex safety mechanism of lithium-ion batteries, especially the complex impact of state changes on safety after cycling, the scientific and effective understanding and standard formulation of lithium-ion battery safety can have a gradual development process. At the same time, the development and application effectiveness of external control technologies should also be fully considered. Su Jinran told reporters that the safety standards for lithium-ion batteries are a highly technical task that should fully utilize the participation of battery standardization organizations, professional technical personnel and standardization professionals from the battery industry, users, electronic control, and other fields in this process, including necessary experimental verification work. Lishen Company has always actively participated in the formulation and revision of battery standards, drafting or participating in the drafting of lithium-ion battery standards such as GB18278, IEEE1725, and IEEE1625. Last December, the company sent people to participate in the seminar on lithium-ion battery safety standards organized by the Ministry of Information Industry in Shenzhen, and gave a special speech on battery recall and battery safety standards.

Sun Chuanhao, a senior engineer at the Institute of Electronic Technology Standardization in China, stated that lithium-ion batteries are currently roughly divided into two categories: energy type and power type products. There are certain differences in materials, design structures, and other aspects between the two types of products. Under the same safety premise, their standard test methods and even requirements may be different. The commonly referred to portable batteries belong to the former category of products, including lithium-ion batteries for mobile phones, laptops, digital cameras, and cameras, while lithium-ion batteries for electric tools, electric bicycles, and electric vehicles can be classified as the latter category. He suggests that relevant departments should develop safety standards for portable lithium-ion batteries and power lithium-ion batteries respectively.

During the interview process, industry insiders expressed that the development of lithium-ion battery standards should be based on independent innovation, but it does not mean that we need to build cars behind closed doors. We should pay attention to absorbing and adopting international standards such as IEC, IEEE, UL, etc.

Expanding the automotive market is a key focus

The important production countries of lithium-ion batteries are Japan, South Korea, and China. In this three dominant situation, Japan and South Korea's exploration of many new technologies is worth learning from. We still have some gaps in product technology and manufacturing, but our exploration in semi-automatic production has also attracted the attention of foreign peers.

Su Jinran stated that with the continuous expansion of battery application fields, the capacity and power performance requirements of batteries are becoming increasingly high, and the requirements for safety vary depending on the application fields. While developing the potential of existing electrochemical systems, research on new systems and materials will become a hot topic in lithium-ion battery research. Breakthroughs in this area will inject inexhaustible power into the rapid development of the lithium-ion battery industry.

Due to its lightweight and high energy density characteristics, the application of lithium-ion batteries in the market is gradually expanding. In the future, lithium-ion technology will be significantly applied in the fields of hybrid and electric vehicles, which will further expand the market share of lithium-ion batteries. Therefore, meeting the application requirements in this field has become a key breakthrough for domestic lithium-ion battery companies. Huang Xuejie, a researcher at the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, emphasized that China has become a major producer of lithium-ion batteries, second only to Japan, but far from being a strong country. At present, small batteries are mostly produced by hand, with varying product quality and fierce competition at low prices. The industrialization of power lithium batteries has just begun, and most companies are still in the early stages. The battery and key material technologies that can meet the 15 year service life requirements of hybrid electric vehicles are still blank. Given the extremely high technical difficulty of high-end products such as lithium-ion power lithium-ion batteries for vehicles, it is necessary to work together through scientific research, engineering technology, and management personnel, and the state should provide support in industrial technology and establish appropriate technology diffusion mechanisms in order to promote the overall technological level of China's battery industry.