Reducing Risk of Battery Fires on Ships

MACSEA and its development partner, PacMar Technologies, recently completed an ONR-funded research project to develop technology for monitoring battery rooms on all-electric ships and issuing early warning alarms at the slightest increase in battery temperatures. The system uses both images and temperature data supplied by thermal cameras, along with AI-based algorithms, to automatically detect evolving thermal threats and issue alerts to sailors long before the temperature of any battery becomes a problem.

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are typically used in all-electric and hybrid-electric ships, ranging from electric ferries and tugboats to autonomous unmanned vehicles increasingly deployed by the military. They play a crucial role in providing high-density energy storage, enabling quieter, cleaner propulsion capabilities with lower emissions. Despite their benefits, LIBs pose significant safety risks, including the potential for fires and explosions.

Due to a number of factors, such as abuse and rapid charging/discharging cycles, LIBs can overheat which causes internal chemical chain reactions, resulting in what’s called “thermal runaway”, often accompanied by toxic gas emissions, fires, and explosions. These fires are difficult to extinguish and have resulted in ship sinkings, huge financial losses, and in some instances, loss of life.

The goal of the ONR project was to create improved technology to not only monitor lithium-ion batteries but also to predict their evolving thermal threat at the earliest possible time to avoid fires. Our development team recently presented a paper at the ASNE AMTS 2024 conference in Philadelphia.

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