Petrochemical firm Taiwan Mitsui Chemicals (Mitsui) has received a license from the Industrial Technology Research Institute of Taiwan (ITRI) to manufacture and distribute safety enhancing battery materials.
The so-called STOBA technology, developed by ITRI, is designed to prevent hazardous lithium-ion battery thermal runaway that can lead to explosions and fires.
The technology utilises a functional polymer with dendritic nano-sized structures, which form films when internal temperatures of the lithium-ion increase abnormally preventing a migration of lithium-ions.
Mitsui will build a manufacturing base in Taiwan by 2016. The company aims to combine its polymer and composite technologies to further develop ITRI’s technology in order to improve manageability and usability.
According to ITRI, the technology improves battery service life.
“I hope that the licensing of this technology to Mitsui Chemicals Group will boost the international visibility of Taiwan’s battery cell makers and the STOBA inside batteries, helping to strengthen international competitiveness and establish a high-safety, high-quality lithium-ion battery industry in Taiwan,” said Fuh Wea-shyang, Deputy Director General from Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs.
“Through this exclusive license for STOBA technology, we target bolstering performance through our state-of-the-art polymer science technology and the creation of a new global safety standard for lithium-ion batteries,” said Shigeru Isayama, Managing Executive Officer, Mitsui Chemicals.
Taiwan Mitsui is a subsidiary of Japan’s Mitsui Group.
