Matsushita Designs Battery to Prevent Combustion

Matsushita Electric has developed a new battery that prevents overheating and spontaneous combustion. The company behind the Panasonic brand developed new production technology under which batteries do not overheat even if they are contaminated by foreign particles during the production process. The lithium-ion battery's inner cells contain multiple sheets of electrodes and insulators measuring several dozen microns stacked on top of one another. If iron powder or other conducting particles come into contact with the sheets, the electrodes can short-circuit, causing overheating and possibly fires. Matsushita's new process involves coating the electrode-insulator sheets with a unique ceramic material. If foreign particles come into contact with the electrodes, only a small amount of heat is dissipated, and the battery is able to continue working normally. In tests, the battery remained operational even after the insertion of improbably large 100-micron particles. Initially, the company aims to switch more than 30% of battery output for computers to the new process, increasing the figure to 60% of total production by 2009. Matsushita Battery Industrial Co. produces 15 million lithium-ion batteries per month for use in notebook computers and about 10 million units for mobile phones.