Advancements in battery safety and performance require thermal, mechanical, and rheological analyses to support innovation.
Thermal, mechanical, and rheological analyses are essential to advancing safety, performance, and innovation in the battery and energy storage industry. These techniques support every stage of development—from material discovery to manufacturing and pack design—by providing deep insights into how materials behave under real-world conditions.
Thermal analysis ensures materials can withstand operational temperatures and helps prevent thermal runaway through precise measurements of stability, conductivity, and heat flow. Dynamic mechanical analysis validates the structural integrity of components under stress and thermal cycling, ensuring long-term durability. Rheological analysis enables optimized slurry formulations for uniform electrode coatings and consistent electrochemical performance.
Critically, in-operando battery thermal analysis using microcalorimetry allows researchers to monitor heat generation during battery cycling in real time—distinguishing between desired electrochemical reactions and parasitic side reactions that compromise safety and efficiency. Together, these tools empower engineers and manufacturers to design safer, more reliable, and higher-performing energy storage systems.
Advancing Energy Storage Performance
Thermal analysis helps identify safe, stable materials and optimize thermal management strategies through measurements like thermal conductivity and diffusivity. Mechanical testing ensures structural integrity and durability under stress, vibration, and temperature fluctuations. Rheology plays a key role in ensuring electrode slurries are optimized for uniform coating and consistent performance. Together, these tools empower engineers and manufacturers to accelerate development, reduce risk, and deliver high-performance, long-lasting energy storage solutions.
Materials Development, Performance Validation, & Manufacturing Solutions
Safety is essential consideration in battery R&D. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) is a critical technique for evaluating the thermal stability of battery materials, identifying the onset of exothermic reactions, quantifying reaction heat, and assessing safety across different states of charge.
Learn more: Safety Evaluation of Lithium-ion Battery Cathode and Anode Materials Using Differential Scanning Calorimetry
Researchers continue to optimize cathode materials to improve electrical conductivity through coatings, modified morphology, or doping. Thermal analysis can offer insight into the thermal stability, phase transitions, and composition of an example of Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP).
Learn more: Thermal Evaluation of LFP Li-Ion Battery Cathodes Using Simultaneous DSC-TGA (SDT)
Battery separators are critical to the performance and safety of lithium-ion batteries, allowing ion exchange while acting as a physical barrier between electrodes. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) to measure the temperature dependent of mechanical and viscoelastic response to ensure the thermal mechanical integrity.
Learn more: Battery Separator Film Development: Impact of Coating
Liquid electrolytes must remain in a liquid state to ensure optimal ionic transport and battery performance. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) provides a simple measurement to evaluate the crystallization and melting of electrolytes. Modulated DSC enables deeper insight into electrolyte phase transitions, helping improve low-temperature battery reliability — especially critical for cold climate applications.
Learn more: Thermal Analysis of Lithium-Ion Battery Electrolytes for Low Temperature Performance
Optimizing electrode manufacturing to minimize waste requires checking the slurry formulation during each of the following steps of processing, slurries undergo shear rates that can change their properties and performance. The DHR measures viscosity at relevant shear rates to help users optimize slurries for uniform coating to check the conductive network under realistic mixing and coating conditions.
The Battery Cycler Microcalorimeter Solution enables non-destructive, in-situ detection of parasitic reactions and thermal instabilities—providing early insights into cell degradation, material behavior, and chemistry optimization long before electrochemical failure is evident.
Learn more: Determination of Parasitic Power in Lithium-ion Batteries using the Battery Cycler Microcalorimeter Solution
Early overcharge detection using a Battery Cycler Microcalorimeter revealed heat flow instability and side reactions well before electrochemical signs of failure—demonstrating its unique ability to non-destructively uncover fundamental failure mechanisms and support early-phase optimization of battery chemistries.
Materials Characterization
Slurry Testing Resources
In-Operando – Battery Testing
Battery Application Notes
- Determination of Parasitic Power in Lithium-ion Batteries using the Battery Cycler Microcalorimeter Solution
- Evaluating the Early Impacts of Overcharge on a Lithium-ion Battery Cell Using the Battery Cycler Microcalorimeter Solution
- Safety Evaluation of Lithium-ion Battery Cathode and Anode Materials Using Differential Scanning Calorimetry
- Rheo-Impedance Measurements in Li-Ion Battery Research: Additive Effect of Carbon Nanotubes in LiFePO4 Cathode