Volvo EX30 battery? 🔋⚠️
What is Dendrite?
So why is it about the Volvo EX30 case? 🔋⚠️
Many people now follow the Volvo EX30 news.
You can see Recall, hot battery, no more than 70% charge or even fire news in Thailand.
But to understand this deeper,
We need to look down to the "battery cell" level.
Because this problem doesn't start with the whole car.
But it may start with a small anomaly in the process of producing battery cells.
In Part 573 Safety Recall Report submitted by Volvo to NHTSA,
There is a very important sentence that...
"A process deviation that may result in the formation of lithium plating growth that could also lead to an internal cell short."
Easy to understand translation is
There may be "discrepancies in the production process."
That causes the accumulation of Lithium Plating.
And it can lead to intracellular short circuits.
The key words are
Process deviation
Lithium plating
Internal cell short
So what's Dendrite got to do?
Normally, Li-ion Battery Charging Time
The lithium ion will travel from the positive to the negative.
And then "insert" into the Graphite layer of the negative pole.
Imagine as simple as a car going into a prepared parking compartment. 🚗
But if some conditions are wrong,
Litium ions may not normally be inserted.
It therefore accumulates on the negative surface instead.
This is called Lithium Plating.
And if Plating happens repeatedly,
The accumulated lithium metal may grow into a small needle-like structure.
Which we call Dendrite.
The problem is, Dendrite isn't just passive.
If it grows longer and longer,
It could stab through the Separator.
Which is the barrier between the positive and negative poles.
When the positive and negative poles meet directly
There is an internal short circuit.
Or intracellular shorting.
And if the heat rises out of control,
Well, it could lead to Thermal Runaway.
Is a chain reaction where the cell gets hotter and hotter.
Until it burns and spreads to other cells. 🔥
So what can Plating cause?
In general, there are many factors, such as
1.Charge in low temperature
Because the lithium ion moves slower, it has to be heated before charging or preconditioned.
2. Charge too hard
If the C-rate exceeds that of the receptive cell, the lithium may not be able to insert and then Plating.
3.SOC is very high
As the battery nears full, there is less space left in the negative pole.
The insertion of lithium is therefore more difficult.
Similar to a parking lot near full.
Normally, EVs and BMSs control temperature, charging, and battery levels.
To reduce these risks.
But in the EX30 case,
What the Recall document points to is process deviation.
Speak carefully is
There may be discrepancies in the process of partial cell production.
That makes some cells more vulnerable to Lithium Plating than usual.
And this is why this should not be understood.
"The whole badly designed Volvo EX30 car."
But it should be seen as more of a battery cell / supplier / manufacturing process level problem.
Because sometimes the whole EV can be well designed.
But if some lot of battery cells have a malfunction,
A single cell could create a whole pack of risk.
This is why Volvo recommends that affected group car owners
No more than 70% charge pending battery replacement
Because of high SOC avoidance.
Helps reduce the chance of Plating.
Reduce heat accumulation
And reduce the risk during parts that have not yet been replaced.
For me, there is a very important lesson.
EVs are not just about horsepower, distance or big screens.
But the real heart of the MTR
Is the quality of battery cells.
And the whole system security control process.
Since the cell factory
BMS system
Heat management
Charging conditions
To the latter Recall measure found trouble.
So if anyone's in the affected car group,
What should be done now is
✅ Not more than 70% charge
✅ Avoid high SOC emissions for a long time.
✅ Notice the unusual hot battery warning message.
✅ Contact the service center / wait by the battery replacement queue.
✅. Strictly follow Volvo's instructions.
This is not too much to panic about.
But it's not something to look at lightly.
Because an EV battery is a big power system.
And safety always comes first.
The short summary is...
Dendrite didn't happen right away.
But it could start with Lithium Plating accumulating repeatedly.
Until risking causing the cell to short circuit inside.
And in the EX30 case,
The Recall document points out that the origin may be about discrepancies in the cell production process.
It's not just the owner's car behavior.
Who's using EX30?
It now charges no more than 70% first.
And wait to follow the queue, change the battery from zero. ⚡
Note: This post is an explanation from the Recall document and the working principle of Li-ion battery, not a technical causation instead of manufacturer.
# VolvoEX30 # EVThailand # Electric car battery ♪ Electric train # Jon