Advanced Capabilities

The centerpiece of the six-figure investment is a specially designed Isolation and Containment Chamber (IsoC) that allows technicians to safely conduct exposure testing using the very aggressive lithium electrolytic solutions found in lithium-ion battery cells. These solutions are volatile, toxic and flammable when exposed to oxygen and ambient air moisture. The IsoC, a six-by-three-by-three-foot, two-chambered glass and steel enclosure, allows chemists to work in a controlled, inert and moisture-free environment.

In addition, Freudenberg Sealing Technologies also invested in a sophisticated telemetry control system that facilitates remote IsoC monitoring of the active work 24/7, head-to-toe protective gear and special respirators for chemists, non-reactive, nickel-based immersion vessels, a safety monitoring and alarm system and electrolytic solutions costing thousands of dollars per gallon.

“What we can now offer customers is design security based on scientific data,” said F. Joseph Walker, Director Research & Development for Freudenberg Sealing Technologies in the Americas. “We have taken this proactive step on behalf of our customers and in response to a growing use of lithium-ion batteries in diverse applications. “Previous effort have been conducted to determine the impact of materials on the electrolyte. This work focuses upon the impact the electrolyte has on the materials.”

A Growing Market Feeds the Needs

Multiple analyst forecasts project that the lithium-ion battery market will experience double digit growth during the next five years based on increasing battery use in the automotive, construction agriculture, mining, commercial truck, recreational vehicle, ship, train and electronics industries. In response, the lithium-ion battery developers are constantly exploring ways to make these sustainable energy devices more powerful, more robust and faster during recharging cycles. Electrolytic solutions have a direct impact on these performance issues. New and enhanced electrolytic solvents are being continuously introduced. While these solvents can result in a faster exchange of lithium ions between the anode and cathode sides of a battery cell -- thus ultimately impacting energy discharge ad recharge rates – they also expose seals, gaskets and other battery components to a constant mix of reactive, flammable, caustic and hazardous chemicals.

Freudenberg Sealing Technologies has spent decades performing comprehensive physical and analytical material testing to document the performance and compatibility of materials that are exposed to different fluids, materials and stress conditions. The data base the company has assembled from the results provides specification guidance and material benchmarks for the components it sells to customers.

Lithium-ion material testing, however, requires a unique set of inputs to safely succeed. The new equipment and test methodology being used in the Central Laboratory provides these inputs.

New Testing, New Requirements

“All of our exposure testing must be performed inside the IsoC in an oxygen-free, moisture-free environment,” said Freudenberg Sealing Technologies’ Michael Saruna, the Central Laboratory chemist who is in charge of material testing in electrolytic solutions. “Electrolytic solution exposed to air can result in a hazardous situation, so we had to take safety and our ability to maintain a controlled environment into account during the design of the IsoC.”