According to the National Transportation Safety Board, more than 4,000 electric cars catch fire each year caused by thermal runaway (TR), a phenomenon in which lithium-ion battery cells that charge the vehicles enter an uncontrollable, self-heating state during transport, often leading to deadly explosions. Now, two companies on different continents that produce TR solutions are joining forces to reduce that total. Specifically, Packaging and Crating Technologies (PACT®), a Connecticut-based manufacturer of a proprietary, fire-suppressant paper wrap and BS Technics, a thermal interface material company in Korea, have entered into an exclusive partnership that allows the expansion of PACT® Thermo ShieldTM and TR SleeveTM into the Asian country for such multinational companies as Samsung, Hyundai and LG Electronics, among other popular brands.
“Although electric vehicle technology dates back to the 1800s, the first drivable EV only hit the market in 1997,” said Rodger Mort, chief operating officer at PACT. “These days, there are hundreds of battery-operated cars available for consumers.”
Mort noted that thermal runway (TR) is becoming a household word due to the vast amount of lithium-ion battery fires, which have caused 611 injuries and 115 fatalities across the U.S. last year alone. TR can result in the ejection of lethal gases, shrapnel and/or particulates, extremely high temperatures, smoke and fire. Thermal runaway begins when the heat generated within a battery exceeds the amount of heat that is dissipated to its surroundings. If the cause of excessive heat creation is not remedied, the condition will worsen.
In 2019, Mort conceived a sustainable solution and led his company to invent PACT Thermo ShieldTM, a lightweight, pleated, paper with a nontoxic moisture vapor application that prevents TR by immediately cooling the internal environment of the package, while limiting oxygen around the payload.
Quickly thereafter, PACT® developed a special product for EV batteries, the TR SleeveTM, in which the material is wrapped around each battery cell to mitigate TR propagation between the individual units, thus serving as a heat and flame barrier.
“We prevent the ‘domino effect’ that happens when an individual lithium-ion battery cell becomes unstable and ignites by shutting it down immediately and preventing a larger catastrophe,” said Mort.
Both products have undergone rigorous tests at an internationally recognized facility run by Transport Canada. It is the only product to pass the proposed testing standards of the G-27 SAE International for safety in shipping lithium-ion batteries via land, sea and air. This is what caught the eye of Korean-based BS Technics.
“In the dynamic field of electromobility and battery manufacturing, rapid evolution is the norm,” said Jennifer Kim, director of sales and marketing at BS Technics. “Our sophisticated solutions, combined with PACT’s practical and affordable paper-based applications, are a perfect complement to each other in reconciling highly diverse EV battery manufacturing processes and creating consistency in safety standards on a global scale.”
PACT® is a global leader in manufacturing sustainable and durable packaging products for the commercial, industrial and military industries. With more than 25 years of experience, the family business was founded by three green packaging professionals and continues to embrace an eco-friendly future by designing cost-effective, patented, crating solutions like LiftVans and PleatWrap, as well as custom packaging for the aerospace, medical, electronics, tooling, machinery, furniture, fine art and automotive sectors.
