Honeywell is pleased to announce its new Battery Safety Sensors including the Battery Safety Aerosol Sensor (BAS) and Battery Safety Pressure Sensor (BPS). Thermal runaway is a safety hazard in electric vehicles and early detection has the potential to prevent loss of life and property. Honeywell’s BAS and BPS series are designed to detect and report the onset of thermal runaway in lithium-ion batteries.

The BAS and BPS Series are designed for electric vehicle and stationary energy storage system applications. Honeywell leveraged its 40 years of experience designing sensors and switches for transportation vehicles to bring the best combination of performance and reliability. The BAS and BPS Series enable compliance with global regulations for passenger safety.

The BAS Series are automotive-grade aerosol sensors that use the principle of light scattering to detect and report thermal runaway events in lithium-ion battery packs. It detects the presence and concentration of aerosols such as smoke, liquid and debris that are early indicators of a thermal runaway event in an enclosed lithium-ion battery pack.

The BAS Series has a particulate matter sensing range of 200 µg/m3 to 10000 µg/m3 with a preprogrammed threshold of 5000 µg/m3. This can be customized per customer request. The BAS Series responds to the presence of particulate matter unlike gas sensors that require the presence of specific gases which may be released late in the thermal runaway process.

The BPS Series are automotive-grade pressure sensors designed to detect and report thermal runaway events in lithium-ion battery packs. They use a combination of MEMS (Micro- Electromechanical System) and ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit) technologies to detect pressure changes in the battery packs of electric vehicles and energy storage systems (ESS).

The BPS Series measures from 50 kPa to 300 kPa absolute pressure. It has programmable warning thresholds for both absolute pressure and rate of change of pressure. It has multiple air channels for improved reliability. The BPS is a packaged sensor for fast implementation in lithium-ion batteries unlike board mount pressure sensor that requires additional design-in effort.

Honeywell’s Battery Safety Sensors have two working modes for low power consumption.