Mitsui Chemicals Inc.’s (MCI; Tokyo; www.mitsuichem.com) wholly owned subsidiary Taiwan Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. has signed an exclusive license agreement with Industrial Technology Research Institute of Taiwan (ITRI), allowing it to manufacture and distribute ITRI’s STOBA (self-terminated oligomers with hyper-branched architecture) technology. STOBA has the capability to prevent hazardous lithium-ion battery (LIB) thermal runaway, which can lead to explosions and fires.
ITRI, Taiwan’s leading R&D institution, developed this groundbreaking technology with support from Taiwan’s government, using nonconventional mechanisms and innovative materials to prevent thermal runaway of LIBs. STOBA is a functional polymer with dendritic (hyper-branch) nano-sized structures that forms films when internal temperatures of LIBs increase abnormally, thereby preventing migration of lithium ions and inhibiting further temperature increase, allowing safe termination of the battery. This technology is already used in Taiwan in electronic instruments, such as smartphones and personal mobility vehicles (PMV), which require high safety standards. With the increase of larger-scale, high-energy (higher output and high capacity) applications, safety of LIBs is a top priority. In addition, with market growth of high-risk, high-energy-based cathode active materials, the need for safe batteries will grow significantly.
By 2016, Mitsui Chemicals will establish a manufacturing base for STOBA in Taiwan. The company targets fusion of its proprietary polymer and composite technologies to further enhance STOBA by improving manageability and usability. Mitsui Chemicals also plans to develop proprietary LIB materials using STOBA technology.