Battery Test Lab expands capabilities with “Safety and Abuse” facility
- October 12, 2021
The Battery and Energy Storage Technology (BEST) Test and Commercialization Center, owned by the New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology Consortium (NY-BEST) and managed by DNV, recently expanded its testing capabilities
The expanded facilities include a Battery Cell Burn and Abuse Test facility at its Rochester, New York-based test laboratory. The BEST Test and Commercialization Center (BTCC) has received ISO17025 accreditation for the expanded test capability per ANSI/CAN/UL 9540A – Test Method for Evaluating Thermal Runaway Fire Propagation in Battery Energy Storage Systems, a release from DNV said.
Thermal behaviour
The new facility at the lab enables DNV to utilize a safe and controlled testing environment to test thermal runaway behaviour of battery cells under extreme conditions that could potentially lead to battery fires. These conditions include overheating, nail penetration and electrical abuse. This testing provides important information about cell safety, as well as the flammability and composition of the gases released during such events. This is crucial information for battery manufacturers to ensure the safety of their products and to meet the safety requirements sought by permitting authorities and customers before new battery systems are deployed.
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Customizable services
The testing service enables developers and battery system manufacturers to verify that their systems are safe and ready for deployment. DNV’s burn and abuse services are customizable, and can be used during product development, to verify inputs for fire and explosion studies, or as a UL9540A certification test. DNV can test very large cells up to 300 Ah, which is not available in most other test centers. These tests are performed with a very fast turnaround, and, when combined with fire and explosion studies, provide comprehensive evaluations of new battery cells and systems for independent engineering reports.
Featured photograph (source: DNV) shows the BEST Test Center that helps promote clean energy by providing comprehensive testing services for innovative battery and energy storage systems (BESS). Located in Rochester, New York, it is the result of a collaboration of DNV with the NY-BEST Consortium of over 180 battery and storage technology companies, universities and government entities.
