Fireproofing for EV Battery

As electric or hybrid-electric vehicle battery technology advances, it presents production challenges that affect overall life cycle durability and safety concerns.

In battery fireproofing applications, transfer tapes or similar separating materials are adhered to components to

• create a fire-retardant barrier
• protect cells, assembly, and battery from heat and fire

However, this method leads to high manufacturing costs due to the manual application labor process, increased inventory of different custom-sized pads. Transfer tapes also can be susceptible to weak bonds.
 

To replace traditional transfer tape methods, material suppliers have developed two component (2K) fireproofing materials and adopted a new spraying process.

By using an automated fireproof coating process, such materials have stronger adhesion and also have many advantages, making them more recognized in the lithium battery industry:

• Automated applications
• Reduced cost
• Improved battery safety
• Enhanced battery performance

Given some characteristics of the two component fireproofing materials and special requirements of the spraying process in the automotive industry, how to spray fireproofing material onto lithium battery components has become an urgent problem to be solved.

Graco plural component equipment provides a unique solution for spraying fireproofing materials onto lithium batteries. For example, the XM PFP feeds materials through a platen specially designed for the continuous delivery of high viscosity materials.

• The mixing ratio of A/B material is adjusted electronically, which makes the error not exceed ±5%.
• High flow powerful heaters help ensure that materials A and B are mixed at the most suitable temperature to achieve the best mixing effect.

Automated production of electric and electric-hybrid vehicles is block-based integration. Equipment used for the automated spraying of fireproofing materials not only needs to meet the conditions for PLC control, it also must also have an extremely low failure rate.

Graco passive fire protection (PCP) spraying equipment meets fireproof spraying requirements for many automated production lines.

• PLC control and communication gateways integrate easily into automated production lines.
• The high-pressure airless spraying process brings an excellent atomization effect, ensuring light, thin, and firm coating for high quality and reliable results.
• Plural component sprayers offer data reporting technology to ensure that fireproofing coatings are sprayed on-ratio and in line with the application requirements.
• The spraying equipment is easy to use, maintains consistent temperature control, provides full ratio assurance and process monitoring.