Abstract

 

The thermal runaway of Li-ion batteries presents significant hazards to people, the environment, and other assets, both physical and reputational. While rare, these events have substantial consequences in automotive, domestic, and commercial applications. Hence, understanding the probability of failure and the variation in failure characteristics is essential for accurately quantifying risk. This talk will discuss the various contributions we have made to understand these aspects better. It will cover the computational and experimental assessment of lithium iron phosphate cells, which was the first of its kind at the time of publication. Then, it will highlight the importance of accounting for uncertainty in modeling critical parameters to prevent thermal runaway. Finally, it will emphasize the need to consider more than just the thermal hazard for a comprehensive and fair risk assessment of different battery chemistries and systems.

Overall, the audience will leave with a greater understanding of the thermal runaway process in Li-ion batteries and the importance of evaluating and accounting for all hazards to accurately assess battery risk from the cell to the grid level.

 

Speaker Bio

 

Dr. Peter Bugryniec is a Research Associate at the University of Sheffield's School of Chemical, Materials, and Biological Engineering. His research primarily focuses on enhancing the safety of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, with a particular emphasis on understanding and mitigating thermal runaway through advanced modelling techniques whilst considering

uncertainty.

Dr. Bugryniec is also an expert in experimental methods, developing the department’s battery safety lab, and providing consultancy to industry partners. He is currently a member of SafeBatt, the leading battery safety project funded by The Faraday Institute. He is also a member of the Brown Group (http://www.browngroupsheffield.com/ ) for the computational

modelling of clean energy and process systems to optimise their design, operation, and safety.

Dr. Bugryniec earned his Doctorate in 2021 with a dissertation titled "Experimental and Computational Analysis of Thermal Runaway in Lithium Iron Phosphate Cells." Since 2015, he has been actively engaged in research related to Li-ion battery safety, continually contributing to significant scientific publications on the subject.

Dr. Bugryniec is also recognized for his contributions to industry conferences and media. He has been invited to speak at events like the International Congress of Factory Safety in Ports and the UKRI Cross-Sector Battery Showcase, where he shared insights on Li-ion battery hazards and safety innovations.

Through his combined research and public engagement efforts, Dr. Bugryniec continues to advance the understanding and implementation of safer Li-ion battery technologies.