SPECIAL NOTICE
A -- Safe Impact Resistant Electrolyte (SAFIRE)
- Notice Date
- 9/26/2018
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 335911
— Storage Battery Manufacturing
- Contracting Office
- Department of Energy, Oak Ridge National Laboratory - UT Battelle LLC (DOE Contractor), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Bethel Valley Road, P.O. Box 2008, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, 37831-6192
- ZIP Code
- 37831-6192
- Solicitation Number
- ORNL-TT-2018-03
- Point of Contact
- Michael J Paulus, Phone: 8655741051, Eugene Cochran, Phone: 865-576-2830
- E-Mail Address
-
paulusmj@ornl.gov, cochraner@ornl.gov
(paulusmj@ornl.gov, cochraner@ornl.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- UT-Battelle, LLC, acting under its Prime Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for the management and operation of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), is seeking a commercialization partner(s) for a promising commercial invention entitled, "Safe Impact Resistant Electrolyte (SAFIRE)." Problem: Images of electric vehicles and personal electronics on fire demonstrate the problematic reality of lithium-ion batteries. The electrolyte in a lithium-ion battery is traditionally built from highly flammable organic solvents that present a fire hazard in the event of an internal short circuit - contact between positive and negative electrodes. Solution: This project focuses on the scale-up and safety demonstration of shear thickening electrolytes for advanced battery applications developed at ORNL. The Safe Impact Resistant Electrolyte (SAFIRE) transformative design results in the electrolyte functioning as a safety feature of the battery and eliminating the risk of thermal runaway. The SAFIRE electrolyte is a liquid under normal operating conditions, allowing solvents to wet all the electrode surfaces just like a traditional battery electrolyte. However, upon impact, as caused by a car crash or some other mechanical impact or kinetic event, the additive causes the electrolyte to undergo an immediate and massive rheological shift to become a solid. The solid barrier prevents the positive and negative electrodes from coming into contact and short circuiting. By preventing the electrodes from touching, none of the energy stored in the battery components is released. Impact: Emerging technology markets, such as those within the automotive industry, depend on safe electrical energy storage. The SAFIRE electrolyte challenges previous notions regarding battery safety/engineering and will turn the electrolyte into an intrinsic part of the battery safety envelope. Beyond the safety aspects of this electrolyte, the value added from this technology enables the redesign of battery packaging and battery placement to introduce design flexibility to end users. Additional SAFIRE market impact is in US military applications, specifically batteries that double as body armor and/or safer portable drone batteries. Potential Applications and Customers/Markets: • Safe high energy batteries for portable military applications. Envision as part of a body armor kit where the battery will stop projectiles replacing current ceramic plates or Kevlar. • Automotive batteries. Batteries that could survive car crashes and not catch on fire. Enable reduction in vehicle mass due to less protective steel to enshroud the battery increasing vehicle range. • Consumer electronics. It would prevent fires like what was observed for the hover boards in 2016. Deployment Plan and Expected Impact: The long-term goal is to deploy shear thickening electrolytes in electric vehicle applications. However automotive designs require extensive R&D efforts for longevity and safety. In addition, OEM's generally will not develop a new technology unless instructed by the manufacturers. To attract automotive interest, ORNL needs to demonstrate the technology on a suitable scale. Hence, the TIP approach is to demonstrate the technology in small-scale niche applications (i.e., body armor for military applications) said batteries only need to last for a few months before replacement. Results from these initial applications will facilitate industrial acceptance and buy-in from the automotive manufactures and result in OEM's investing in the technology and commercialization. Intellectual Property: 1) Impact Resistant Electrolyte, Serial No.: 14/497,667 US9590274B2 2) Shear Activated Impact Resistant Electrolyte, Serial No.: 15/382,082 US20170104236A1 3) Fabrication of Films and Coatings Using Shear Thickening, Impact Resistant Electrolytes, Serial No.: 15/958,448 4) Stabilized Shear Thickening Electrolyte, Serial No.: 15/835,696 Publications: 1) Brian H. Shen, Gabriel M. Veith, Beth L. Armstrong, Wyatt E. Tenhaeff, and Robert L. Sacci, " Predictive design of shear-thickening electrolytes for safety considerations," Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 164(12), A2547-A2551 (2017). 2) Gabriel M. Veith, Beth L. Armstrong, Hsin Wang, Sergiy Kalnaus, Wyatt Tenhaeff, and Mary Patterson, " Shear Thickening Electrolytes for High Impact Resistant Batteries," ACS Energy Letters 2(9), 2084-2088 (2017). 3) Brian Shen, Beth L. Armstrong, Mathieu Doucet, Luke Heroux, James F. Browning, Michael Agamalian, Wyatt E. Tenhaeff, and Gabriel M. Veith, " Shear Thickening Electrolyte Built from Sterically Stabilized Colloidal Particles " ACS Materials and Interfaces 10(11), pp 9424-9434 (2018). Inventor: Gabriel M. Veith, PhD, ORNL Physical Sciences Directorate Dr. Gabriel Veith is a senior research staff member and team lead for the Thin Film and Fundamental Electrochemistry group within the Materials Science and Technology Division at ORNL. His research focuses on the development of new materials and processes related to energy storage/conversion applications as well as fundamental studies of liquid-solid interfaces. He has 176 published papers, four patents, six patents submitted, and two R&D 100 awards. This technology was originally developed using federal funds and selected for further development under the laboratory's Technology Innovation Program (TIP). The ORNL TIP supports technology development using royalties from existing technology licenses to accelerate the market readiness of high potential technologies available for license. When a technology enters the ORNL TIP process, it is initially made unavailable for licensing to provide the R&D team with time to improve its marketability and to give prospective licensees time to evaluate its potential. When the technology has matured, typically 6-9 months after project start, ORNL issues a call for license applications. This call is announced via email and posted on FedBizOpps.gov approximately around Oct. 30, 2018. A TIP/TCF Showcase will be held at Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Oct. 18, 2018 and all technologies will offer presentations, laboratory tours, and time for questions on the technologies and licensing. A response date of Dec. 31, 2018 is required for your application to be considered. If more than one prospective partner seeks an exclusive license in the same field of use, the licensing applications are scored to objectively identify the prospective licensee most capable of commercializing the technology. Offering Brochure: https://www.ornl.gov/sites/default/files/TIP-Safe-Impact-2018.pdf ORNL Technology Innovation Program (TIP): https://www.ornl.gov/partnerships/technology-innovation-program How to license ORNL technologies: https://www.ornl.gov/partnerships/how-license-ornl-technologies https://www.ornl.gov/partnerships/licensing-guidelines https://www.ornl.gov/sites/default/files/license_application.pdf Additional Technical Information: Safe Impact Resistant Electrolytes (SAFIRE) [ summary, video ] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxjMwTxjSfc&t=0s&list=PLLG7h7fPoH8KiWJ0wLMzCPSqks00GBx1I&index=20 https://arpa-e.energy.gov/?q=slick-sheet-project/impact-resistant-electrolyte http://www2.che.rochester.edu/news-events/news/2017-11-27_tenhaeff_rd100_award.html
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DOE/ORNL/ORNL/ORNL-TT-2018-03/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: ORNL, One Bethel Valley Road, PO Box 2008, MS-6196, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, 37831-6196, United States
- Zip Code: 37831-6196
- Zip Code: 37831-6196
- Record
- SN05105758-W 20180928/180926230927-fd8ff8eaf600926ff69165ba5e1ad512 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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