French solid-state battery developer Blue Solutions and Austrian engineering specialist AVL have completed a joint safety assessment of Blue Solutions’ next-generation battery cells. The programme focused on identifying and mitigating potential risks ahead of the technology’s industrial-scale production.
To support the assessment, the partners combined Blue Solutions’ cell technology with AVL’s simulation, testing and validation expertise. The programme examined cell behaviour under increasing internal pressure, mechanical stability, and a range of stress and failure scenarios.
Blue Solutions’ next-generation solid-state battery uses a lithium-metal anode, among other new technologies. Compared with today’s lithium-ion cells, this cell design promises higher energy density but also introduces new engineering challenges, particularly in managing internal cell pressure and designing the mechanical structure of the overall battery system.
A key focus of the programme was thermal propagation, the spread of a thermal event from a defective or overheated cell to neighbouring cells. In the worst case, such a failure can trigger a chain reaction throughout the battery pack. According to Blue Solutions and AVL, the programme demonstrated that this risk can be reduced through simulation-based development, pressure-optimised cell design and a safety-oriented battery system architecture.
