The ever-growing consumption of Lithium ion batteries

It is our love affair with electronic gadgets, in combination with the need for renewable energy, that has led to a massive up-scale consumption. Lithium ion batteries are giving us many advantages. They have superior useable capacity, they charge fast and efficiënt, they are compact and lightweigth and have a prolonged battery life.

Lithium Ion Battery seems like the ideal solution for making our lives more comfortable and our world more durable. However, there is a major disadvantage which is that Lithium batteries can be life-threatening.

Why are these batteries so dangerous?

Part of the problem stems from what makes them so popular: They pack a lot of power for their size. But if they short-circuit they can overheat and create a chain reaction known as “thermal runaway,” a cascading effect in which they reach very high temperatures and emit smoke and toxic gasses that can fuel a fire or an explosion, especially if they’re packed tightly with other lithium batteries.

A thermal runaway can be caused by;

• Poor manufacturing, bad design

• External heating

• Over charging

• Over Discharging

• High current charging

• Structural damage

• Crush

• External short

So what is exactly happening here? Every lithium ion battery has two electrodes— there is the positively charged cathode and the negatively charged anode. They are separated from each other by a thin layer of microperferated plastic. When charging the battery, lithium ions move from the cathode through the tiny holes of the separator and an electrically conductive fluid, to the anode. The reverse happens when you discharge the battery and this reaction is what powers the electric device.