Intrinsically Safe Battery

Description

In hazardous environments, having a comprehensive understanding of gas concentrations is crucial. Traditional high-precision, calibrated gas sensors are often expensive and limited in number, providing precise data only at specific points. Our gas-sensing IoT system was developed to address this challenge by leveraging a cost-effective structure that allows for numerous sensing locations throughout a facility. While each sensor may not have the high resolution of more expensive counterparts, the extensive coverage they provide ensures a much better overall picture of gas presence and movement within the facility. Given that electricity is not always available at every sampling point, a battery-powered system was essential. Our high energy density battery packs enable easy mounting and long-lasting power, ensuring continuous monitoring even in challenging environments. 

Key Features

• Individual hot-swappable sensor modules for detecting gas concentrations and other environmental properties
• First solid-state battery used in hot-swappable battery pack modules with high energy density.  
• Different selectable radio-communication types (LoRA, WiFi, LTE, etc.)
• Optional number of battery packs – depending on the system consumption and the expected lifetime 
• Compliance with Ex standards 

Details 

Thanks to the thorough investigation of a European market surveillance office on one of our prior designs, that utilized lithium battery, we developed new solutions that provide even higher levels of safety, and compliance to practically any interpretation of the standards. While the investigation was also closed without product recall.

Description

Rechargeable molten salt batteries are based on commonly available and low-cost materials like sodium and chloride from conventional table salt, nickel metal and a solid-state electrolyte of meta-alumina. While these batteries are very durable, stable and safe, they require a few hundred degrees Celsius for their operation. This challenge is safely and efficiently solved in a number of products available on the market today, which makes these batteries becoming the number one choice for storing energy, especially for backup power.

Key Features 

• Very high number of cycles 
• Not degrading if kept at 100% SoC for long periods of time. 
• Keeping the charge for extremely long times 
• Energy needs for maintaining the salt in molten state in a well-constructed sodium battery is less than the energy leakage in Ni-Cd batteries. 

Details

While the IEC 60079-0:2018 chapter 23.3 lists the chemistry of cells that may be used in hazardous environments, and the update of Table 14 to allow molten salt batteries is probably not going to be published before later in 2025, there are other ways to prove the safety of these batteries and have them certified for use in zone 1 and 21 explosive environments – both under IECEx and under ATEX. Contact us to find out more.