News / ニュース

Sep 25, 2017
Published in The Japan Economic Journal (The Nikkei Shinbun)

Insulator (Separator) for Batteries to be Installed on EVs
Reduces Ignition Risk
3DOM Inc. Will Start Volume Production

3DOM Inc., a Tokyo Metropolitan University originated entrepreneurial venture company (Yokohama City, President: Shusuke Oguro), will start volume production of separators (insurators) to be used in lithium ion batteries for electric vehicles from the middle of 2018.
The structure of minute pores in the separator reduces the risk of ignition. The life cycle of battery will be extended by a few times (against conventional batteries) and the energy density is enhanced by a few tens of percentage points.
The separator has been developed together by 3DOM and ABRI Co., Ltd. (Hachioji City, President: Dr. Hidetoshi Abe), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Furukawa Battery and is a Tokyo Metropolitan University originated entrepreneurial venture company. The targeted production volume by 2020 is 50 million square meters annually.
Through repeated charging and discharging, lithium in the lithium ion battery precipitates dendrites (tree-shaped crystal) that may touch the cathode (positive electrode), thereby increasing the possibility of shirt circuiting.
The separator developed by the two companies has about twice as many minute pores that are invisible to bare eyes than any conventional separator, and has a unique structure of orderly aligned pores.
As the movement of lithium ions between cathode and anode becomes more active, the precipitation of dendrites is suppressed, thereby reducing the possibility of short circuits.

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