Dow Silicones Support EV Battery Performance and Safety

Dow has published an article in EV Design and Manufacturing called “Silicones are instrumental in supporting EV battery performance and safety.” Electric vehicle (EV) designers have a choice of thermal management and fire protection materials, but silicones combine thermal stability, high temperature resistance, and electrical insulation along with other critical characteristics.

Luc Dusart, Global Marketing Manager, M&T Electronics at Dow, is the author of the article, which describes some of Dow’s silicone-based materials for thermal management and fire protection. RDAbbott represents several materials featured in the article, along with additional battery system solutions and Dow silicones for EV powertrains and charging infrastructure.

During the charging and discharging of battery cells, EV batteries produce a significant amount of heat. If a battery cell enters thermal runaway, excessive heat can move to adjacent cells and cause fires or explosions. Short circuits or vehicle crashes can also cause thermal runaway to occur. To promote safety and performance, thermally conductive silicones are used to dissipate heat.

As Dow’s article explains, silicone-based thermal management materials include:

Silicone-based materials for battery fire protection undergo ceramification, a process that forms a ceramic layer and isolates combustible components from oxygen. During thermal runaway events, these silicone-based foams help protect the battery pack against flame and particle blast. Unlike thermal management materials, they are thermally insulating instead of thermally conductive.

Dow’s article describes five types of silicone-based fire protection materials:

See these additional resources for more information on Dow silicones represented by RDAbbott and materials featured in the EV Design and Manufacturing article.