Fully-submerged battery cells for vehicle energy-storage systems

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2017005381-A1
Application number	US-201514929245-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Oct 30, 2015
Priority date	Jun 30, 2015
Publication date	Jan 5, 2017
Grant date	—

Abstract

Provided are cooling subsystems for energy-storage systems comprising: a coolant section having a coolant circulated therein; a plurality of battery cells having a coated portion, the coated portion being disposed in the coolant section, the coolant section configured so that the plurality of battery cells are substantially fully covered by the coolant; and a retainer disposed in the coolant section, the retainer holding the plurality of battery cells, the retainer having a plurality of flow channels, the coolant flowing through the flow channels.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A energy-storage system comprising:
a coolant section having a coolant circulated therein; a plurality of battery cells having a coated portion, the coated portion being disposed in the coolant section, the coolant section configured so that the plurality of battery cells are substantially fully covered by the coolant; and a retainer disposed in the coolant section, the retainer holding the plurality of battery cells, the retainer having a plurality of flow channels, the coolant flowing through the flow channels.

2 . The energy-storage system of claim 1 , wherein the coolant substantially covers 98% of the battery cells.

3 . The energy-storage system of claim 1 , wherein the coolant substantially covers between 92% and 98% of the battery cells.

4 . The energy-storage system of claim 3 , wherein the coating material comprises at least one of aluminum oxide, diamond powder based materials, and boron nitride.

5 . The energy-storage system of claim 4 , wherein the retainer comprises an elastomer.

6 . The energy-storage system of claim 4 , wherein at least one side of the retainer is potted.

7 . The energy-storage system of claim 1 , wherein the battery cells are cylindrical lithium-ion battery cells.

8 . The energy-storage system of claim 5 further comprising:
a current carrier electrically coupled to the plurality of battery cells, a cathode terminal of each of the battery cells being coupled to a respective positive contact of the current carrier, and an anode terminal of each of the battery cells being coupled to a respective negative contact of the current carrier.

9 . The energy-storage system of claim 6 , wherein the cathode terminal of each cell is laser welded to the respective positive contact of the current carrier and the anode terminal of each cell is laser welded to the respective negative contact of the current carrier.

10 . The energy-storage system of claim 7 , wherein the current carrier includes a plurality of fuses each electrically coupled to the respective positive contact.

11 . An energy-storage system comprising:
a coolant section having a coolant circulated therein; a plurality of battery cells having a coated portion, the coated portion being disposed in the coolant section, the coolant section configured so that the plurality of battery cells are substantially fully covered by the coolant; and a retainer disposed in the coolant section, the retainer holding the plurality of battery cells, the retainer having a plurality of flow channels, the coolant flowing through the flow channels.

12 . The energy-storage system of claim 11 , wherein the battery cells are cylindrical lithium-ion battery cells.

13 . The energy-storage system of claim 11 , wherein the coolant substantially covers 98% of the battery cells.

14 . The energy-storage system of claim 11 , wherein the coolant substantially covers between 92% and 98% of the battery cells.

15 . The energy-storage system of claim 14 , wherein the coating material comprises at least one of aluminum oxide, diamond powder based materials, and boron nitride.

16 . The energy-storage system of claim 15 , wherein the retainer comprises an elastomer.

17 . The energy-storage system of claim 15 , wherein at least one side of the retainer is potted.

18 . The energy-storage system of claim 17 further comprising:
a current carrier electrically coupled to the plurality of battery cells, a cathode terminal of each of the battery cells being coupled to a respective positive contact of the current carrier, and an anode terminal of each of the battery cells being coupled to a respective negative contact of the current carrier.

19 . The energy-storage system of claim 18 , wherein the cathode terminal of each cell is laser welded to the respective positive contact of the current carrier and the anode terminal of each cell is laser welded to the respective negative contact of the current carrier.

20 . The energy-storage system of claim 19 , wherein the current carrier includes a plurality of fuses each electrically coupled to the respective positive contact.

Assignees

• Faraday&Future Inc

Inventors

• Harris W Porter

Classifications

• H01M50/566

  by welding, soldering or brazing · CPC title

• H01M50/503

  characterised by the shape of the interconnectors · CPC title

• H01M50/293

  characterised by the material · CPC title

• H01M50/213

  adapted for cells having curved cross-section, e.g. round or elliptic (H01M50/209, H01M50/216 take precedence) · CPC title

• H01M50/117

  Inorganic material · CPC title