Dr. Peter J. Bugryniec University of Sheffield UK

Dr. Peter J. Bugryniec is one of the world's leading authorities on the safety of lithium ion batteries. His research investigates the hazard of thermal runaway with the aim of determining the governing processes and influencing factors that affect thermal runaway severity. He completed his doctorate on the "Experimental and Computational Analysis of Thermal Runaway in Lithium Ion Phosphate Cells" in 2021. Since 2018 he has published 12 scientific research papers on the safety of lithium ion batteries.  Dr. Bugryniec's scientific research has been peer reviewed 5 times.

Thermal runaway is a violent chain reaction of exothermic (the release of heat) chemical reactions resulting in an uncontrollable increase in system temperature. Batteries and energy storage systems are integral parts of tech around us. They sometimes fall victim to thermal runaway, turning a peaceful power source into a potential headache and health hazard. Understanding this reaction is a key step toward better battery safety.

Batteries are designed to store chemical energy, and during thermal runaway, this chemical energy is uncontrollably released. In lithium ion batteries (LIBs), thermal runaway can be caused by e.g. mechanical damage, external heat, short circuit, or overcharging. Thermal runaway is characterized by very quick progress, and it can result in battery fire or even explosion. It results in the self-destruction of the battery.

This recent groundbreaking scientific research paper, "Review of Gas Emissions from Lithium-Ion Battery Thermal Runaway Failure - Considering Toxic and Flammable Compounds", (click to read the entire research paper) was done by 6 professors from 3 different UK universities who work in chemical and biological engineering. The research team, led by Dr. Bugryniec, was the first to do a deep dive analysis on the 60 previous scientific studies on gas emissions from lithium-ion battery thermal runaway failure. 

The researchers were trying to determine the flammability and toxicity hazards of different lithium-ion battery chemistries. From their analysis, it was found that LFP (lithium iron phosphate) batteries and NMC (lithium nickel manganese cobalt) batteries are the most studied, aligning with industries tendencies towards these chemistries. Among the 6 findings listed in the Abstract (summary)  are: (4) LFP batteries show greater toxicity than NMC batteries (5) LFP is more toxic at a lower SOC (state of charge) and (6) LFP off-gas has a greater flammability hazard.

In the INTRODUCTION section the paper stated, "The risk of fire, explosion, or vapour cloud ignition extends to stationary energy storage, EVs, and marine applications where incidents have occurred in reality (9), (10), (11), showing that this is a real  and present hazard. Adequate risk assessments are required to manage and mitigate this fire/explosion hazard and to aid emergency responders in understanding the hazards they may walk into (12), (13)."

"The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper."

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