Project Profile: Electrochemical Safety Research Institute Laboratory
Opening of the Electrochemical Safety Research Institute. IMAGE: UL Research Institutes
The Electrochemical Safety Research Institute (ESRI) of UL Research Institutes (ULRI) has launched a new laboratory in Houston, TX, to study renewable energy technologies designed to mitigate climate change. The lab has opened within the University of Houston Technology Bridge (UHTB), a startup park adjacent to the university’s main campus. ESRI’s research scientists will explore the safety and performance limits of batteries and other renewable energy technologies, seeking ways to characterize and overcome the safety limitations and advance the UL Research Institutes commitment to address the global grand challenge of building resilience for a sustainable future.
Lab Design spoke to Judy Jeevarajan, PhD, vice president, and executive director, ESRI, UL Research Institutes, about the facility. The research group has been in the lab space since April 2022, and the lab space since September 2022.
Q: What was the need for this facility? Is it replacing an outdated existing facility or accommodating new research/ a new program?
IMAGE: UL Research Institutes
A: The new facility provides a location where the ESRI team’s office space and lab space are in close proximity. In the past, we leased a few office suites in a building that housed several companies. We carried out our research in collaboration with universities as well as in the Energy Systems Test Area (ESTA) at NASA-JSC and Stress Engineering Services in the Houston area. This new space in the UHTB gives us the ability to carry out hands-on performance type research in the area of energy storage. Our ESRI team will be able to not only test cells and batteries under nominal conditions, but also work on synthesizing and characterizing new and novel materials for new energy storage chemistries.
Q: Is there anything particularly unique or groundbreaking about your facility or the design plan?
A: Our leased spaces are comfortable with respect to office spaces as well as our lab space. We have the use of conference rooms for larger meeting groups such as the Battery Safety Council forum that is held twice a year. We also have the luxury of visiting the labs of the professors at the University of Houston who collaborate with us. Our scientists are able to be present physically in their labs to mentor the students.
Q: What sorts of challenges did you encounter during the design/build process, and how did you overcome them?
A: We did not design and build the office or lab space. But we faced several challenges in installing our equipment in UHTB space and we also had to make changes to accommodate the equipment we will be using for our research. The current building has protected 110 V wall outlets that require very specific connectors in order to power the various equipment. The connectors for these protected outlets are available only in specific electrical equipment stores and some of them needed to be designed and made specifically for our voltage and current requirements. Apart from this, the power needs for our cell and battery testers, the thermal chamber and other spectroscopic equipment were in the range of 220 V to 480 V. We are working with the facility team at the U of H to design and install the necessary power outlets. Several of our equipment require that the lab benches have a certain weight-bearing capability and since some of our equipment were heavier than the rating of the lab tables, we had to replace these with tables that had the relevant weight-bearing capabilities. The tables that are used to hold the cells and batteries during their nominal charge/discharge cycling will have large enclosures that will provide a level of protection and physical separation between the test articles and our scientists working in the lab. Each of these enclosures will also be fitted with a small fire extinguisher that will help to put out any fires that may be caused due to an inadvertent off-nominal and unplanned event. Lastly, we are working on procuring an anti-vibration table for the SEM/EDS spectroscopic equipment that will be used to study surface morphology of electrodes and separators.
Q: If a similar facility or program were to look at your lab for inspiration, what do you think they will take away as an example of what they should also implement in their own lab?
A: Learning about unique features in the existing building or even with new construction, as with the protected wall outlets we had to work with, is important. One should also confirm that all the equipment that needs to be installed or integrated has all the necessary factors taken into consideration from power requirements to mass requirements to any unique needs such as the anti-vibration tables. Lastly, making sure that we provide for unexpected unsafe events especially when working with high-energy and high-power batteries is critical in reducing the risk associated with these energy storage systems.
