LG Chem, LX Hausys develop material delaying battery thermal runaway

South Korea’s LG Chem Ltd. and its spinoff LX Hausys Ltd. have jointly developed a material that delays the thermal runaway of electric vehicle batteries, with better durability than a product released last year, the petrochemical unit of LG Group said on Friday.

The 1.6 millimeter-thin-new material can withstand a flame as hot as 1,500 degrees Celsius for more than 20 minutes. That is more than 14 times longer than existing thermoplastics, and the industry’s highest level of flame-blocking performance, LG Chem said.

Last year, LG Chem developed super flame barrier materials and completed a mass production system. The materials are key components of EV battery modules.

The new material, dubbed special flame retardant continuous fiber thermoplastic, has low deformation under force, LG Chem said.

It can be used in the top and bottom covers of large battery packs and effectively delay the spread of flames in the event of fire, the company stated.

As thermal runaway is a major barrier to EV adoption, the new material will help in the popularization of electric cars, LG Chem added.

Write to Jae-Fu Kim at hu@hankyung.com

Jihyun Kim edited this article.