A year ago this blog relayed a report on a development by ExxonMobil chemical engineers. Green Car Congress now has reported that ExxonMobil Chemical’s affiliate, Tonen Chemical Corporation, has begun production.
The product is a separator with enhanced permeability, higher meltdown temperature and melt integrity. Now being produced on a commercial line, the microporous film achieves these improvements without compromising shutdown temperature or mechanical strength. “The higher meltdown temperature significantly increases the film’s thermal safety margin,” reports GCC, which is an added safety measure when installing advanced lithium-ion batteries into electric vehicles.
The separators now being manufactured by Tonen offer the potential to make HEV batteries lighter, smaller and more durable. The new films are co-extruded using specially tailored, high-heat resistant polymers using a proprietary wet, bi-orientation manufacturing process.
ExxonMobil Chemical, a global leader in polyolefin technology, will have the new generation films on display at AABC (Advanced Automotive Battery Conference) in Long Beach, CA, 14-18 May. Samples are available immediately for advanced HEV/EV lithium-ion battery applications.
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[...] market for HEVs (Hybrid Electric Vehicles) — the sales leader is the Toyota Prius — it would seem that a market is developing for lithium battery components, which is a good indicator. Even key [...]
[...] believe they can produce lighter and more powerful batteries. Also recently in the news has been an announcement by ExxonMobil Chemical that an affiliate, Tonen Chemical Corporation, has begun production of a similar [...]