Thermal runaway is an undesired occurrence with lithium-ion cells and batteries when improperly designed, manufactured or used. With the size of these batteries increasing exponentially and their use in confined spaces becoming more common, it is imperative to fully characterize the nature and products of thermal runaway. In this webinar, Judy Jeevarajan of the Electrochemical Safety Research Institute (ESRI) at UL Research Institutes provides details on the need to carry out such characterizations; methods to take the test articles into thermal runaway; the worst case events observed; and products of fire and smoke for test articles studied by ESRI. Finally, Jeevarajan provides some recommendations on addressing the prevention and propagation of thermal runaway in Li-ion batteries.

Judy Jeevarajan is vice-president and executive director of the Electrochemical Safety Research Institute (ESRI) at UL Research Institutes (formerly Underwriters Laboratories, Inc.). She has worked in the field of batteries for more than 25 years, with a primary focus on lithium-ion chemistry.

Jeevarajan serves in the technical working groups and committees for standards organizations such as UL, Society of Automotive Engineers, International Civil Aviation Organization/Society of Aerospace Engineers, Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics, International Electrotechnical Commission, and American National Standards Institute. She currently leads an effort under the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics to develop a space safety standard for battery systems. She also serves as a member of the Informal Working Group and Dangerous Goods Panel under the United Nations. Jeevarajan is a member of the Great Lakes Energy Institute Advisory Board at Case Western Reserve University.

Before joining Underwriters Laboratories Inc., she worked for NASA at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston for 12 years, serving as group lead for Battery Safety and Advanced Technology. Prior to becoming a civil servant at NASA, Jeevarajan worked onsite for five and a half years at NASA-JSC for Lockheed Martin Space Operations.

Jeevarajan earned an MS in chemistry from the University of Notre Dame and PhD in chemistry (electrochemistry) from the University of Alabama. She has won numerous NASA awards, including the NASA Exceptional Service Medal and the NASA-NESC Engineering Excellence Award. She also received the 2019 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Aerospace Power Systems Award, and India Energy Storage Alliance Woman Leader of the Year 2020–Energy Storage Systems Award.