Thermal hazard comparison and assessment of Li-ion battery and Na-ion battery

Abstract

Na-ion batteries are considered a promising next-generation battery alternative to Li-ion batteries, due to the abundant Na resources and low cost. Most efforts focus on developing new materials to enhance energy density and electrochemical performance to enable it comparable to Li-ion batteries, without considering thermal hazard of Na-ion batteries and comparison with Li-ion batteries. To address this issue, our work comprehensively compares commercial prismatic lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery, lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide (NCM523) battery and Na-ion battery of the same size from thermal hazard perspective using Accelerating Rate Calorimeter. The thermal hazard of the three cells is then qualitatively assessed from thermal stability, early warning and thermal runaway severity perspectives by integrating eight characteristic parameters. The Na-ion cell displays comparable thermal stability with LFP while LFP exhibits the lowest thermal runaway hazard and severity. However, the Na-ion cell displays the lowest safety venting temperature and the longest time interval between safety venting and thermal runaway, allowing the generated gas to be released as early as possible and detected in a timely manner, providing sufficient time for early warning. Finally, a database of thermal runaway characteristic temperature for Li-ion and Na-ion cells is collected and processed to delineate four thermal hazard levels for quantitative assessment. Overall, LFP cells exhibit the lowest thermal hazard, followed by the Na-ion cells and NCM523 cells. This work clarifies the thermal hazard discrepancy between the Na-ion cell and prevalent Li-ion cells, providing crucial guidance for development and application of Na-ion cell.