Artificial intelligence is driving a surge in data centres being built around the world, but what’s embedded in those data centres are the lithium-ion batteries that keep data centres running, and research is being done in MME’s Fire Research Group to keep those centres running.
The research is being led by Dr. Vinny Gupta within the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering (MME), alongside Dr. Kyle Daun, another professor in MME and Dr. Michael Pope in chemical engineering.
Lithium-ion battery cells are generally reliable and common in modern electronics and EVs, but battery cells can be dangerous because they can release a lot of energy very quickly. And in large-scale systems like data centres, the risk multiplies when a single failing cell can transfer intense heat to neighbouring cells in a packed environment, increasing the risk of fire—and lithium-ion battery fires can be intense.
Although these types of fires are rare, “The issue that we're really dealing with is that the consequence of that small fraction can be quite large,” Gupta says.
The data researchers are collecting will be crucial to improving safety across the entire battery ecosystem through enhanced thermal management systems, increased cell spacing, and improved monitoring.
Go to Hidden Risks in AI data centres spark new battery safety research in Waterloo News for the full story.