Propensity to self-heating ignition of open-circuit pouch lithium-ion battery pile on a hot boundary

The fire safety issue of Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries is an important obstacle for its market growth and applications. Although the open-circuit condition (e.g. storage, transport and disposal) accounts for the major part of battery lifespan, little research has investigated its self-ignition hazard during non-operating periods. In this work, we experimentally study the self-heating behavior of piled pouch Li-ion battery cells through the classical hot-plate experiments. Results show that the self-ignition of battery pile occurs under a hot plate temperature ranging from 199 °C to 265 °C, depending on the number of cells and environmental cooling. Thermal runaway always first occurs to the cell next to the hot plate and then propagates to upper cells. This critical temperature is increased by 20 °C under a good environmental cooling condition whereas it is reduced by 40 °C as the state of charge increases from 30% to 80%. Moreover, the critical plate temperature for self-ignition increases slightly with the height of battery pile, which is opposite to both hot-plate experiments of hydrocarbon materials and the oven experiments of battery. Therefore, the classical self-ignition theory may not be applicable for Li-ion batteries next to a hot boundary. This research reveals new self-ignition phenomena and helps understand the fire safety of Li-ion batteries in storage and transport. •Study self-ignition of open-circuit pouch Li-ion battery via the classical hot-plate test.•Critical boundary temperature for thermal runaway increases with battery pile thickness.•Insulated boundary reduces the self-ignition temperature of the battery pile by 20 K.