Safecore

Feb 24, 2022

Print Amionx, a Carlsbad company that’s developed a patented process to prevent lithium ion batteries from exploding and catching fire, said Wednesday that it entered into an agreement with a Chinese battery manufacturer to deploy its SafeCore technology in production. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. But Amionx has begun the technology transfer of a SafeCore design to Li-Fun for use when making certain batteries for consumer electronics. SafeCore acts as a circuit breaker to prevent lithium-ion batteries from igniting from internal shorts, overcharging or overheating — which is known as thermal runaway. While rare, thermal runaway can spark intense fires in battery powered devices ranging from electric vehicles to hoverboards. “At Li-Fun, we value quality and place great priority on the safety of our products”, said Chief Executive Kent Tu in a statement. “This agreement with Amionx reflects this philosophy as SafeCore is truly innovative in its increased safety and the ability to enable new, more energy dense designs.” Advertisement According to Amionx, SafeCore doesn’t require new production equipment, adds little to material costs, increases battery life, allows for the design of smaller and lighter batteries and is applicable to other chemistries such as nano-silicon and lithium metal, as well as solid-state. SafeCore stems from a U.S. Department of Energy project to deliver high-energy electric vehicle batteries that won’t catch fire in a crash. It has been used in wearable, bullet-safe battery packs for soldiers. Jiang Fan perfected the process at American Lithium Energy. Amionx was spun out about five years ago to commercialize the technology. It has raised $11 million in funding to date. Amionx already has manufacturing deals with Veken Technology and one other unnamed battery producer. Once the technology transfer is complete, Li-Fun will be able to make and apply SafeCore in its factories and may supply batteries with SafeCore to licensees of Amionx. “As lithium-ion batteries are getting deployed in more applications, the number of safety-related incidents have also increased,” said Jenna King, chief executive of Amionx, in a statement. “I’d like to welcome Li-Fun to the growing list of manufacturers who will now be able to produce batteries that include SafeCore.”