TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER OPPORTUNITY: Internal Short Circuit Testing Device to Improve Battery Designs (MSC-TOPS-75)

NASA’s Technology Transfer Program solicits inquiries from companies interested in obtaining license rights to commercialize, manufacture and market the following technology. License rights may be issued on an exclusive or nonexclusive basis and may include specific fields of use. NASA provides no funding in conjunction with these potential licenses. THE TECHNOLOGY: Batteries, such as lithium-ion for example that are sold for consumer use in portable electronic devices and other applications such as electrical cars, occasionally fail in the field over time. These cells have typically passed a wide variety of safety tests, such as those required by governmental shipping regulations and other certification organizations. Nevertheless, they sometimes fail by overheating, which triggers thermal runaway in the battery. This action may engulf the entire device such as a cellular phone or tablet-type devices. To better understand these failure modes, innovators at the NASA Johnson Space Center and the DOE National Energy Renewable Laboratory have developed a battery test device, which introduces latent flaws into the test batteries to produce an internal short circuit. This device can help battery manufacturers and testers determine which battery design will best minimize the spread of a thermal runaway-induced fire in the battery or bank of batteries. To express interest in this opportunity, please submit a license application through NASA’s Automated Technology Licensing Application System (ATLAS) by visiting https://technology.nasa.gov/patent/MSC-TOPS-75 If you have any questions, please contact NASA Johnson Space Center’s Technology Transfer Office at [email protected] with the title of this Technology Transfer Opportunity as listed in this FBO notice and your preferred contact information. For more information about licensing other NASA-developed technologies, please visit the NASA Technology Transfer Portal at https://technology.nasa.gov/ These responses are provided to members of NASA’s Technology Transfer Program for the purpose of promoting public awareness of NASA-developed technology products, and conducting preliminary market research to determine public interest in and potential for future licensing opportunities. No follow-on procurement is expected to result from responses to this Notice.