alsym press releases - kn

• Written by Dr. Nikhil Koratkar, co-founder of Alsym Energy, John A. Clark and Edward T. Crossan Chair Professor in Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)

Lithium-ion batteries are everywhere, from the tiny ones in your earbuds to the massive ones in stationary storage installations. And every day, thousands of new batteries roll off the assembly lines—and thousands more find their way into landfills and rivers. It’s easy to assume that these batteries are safe for people and the environment given their ubiquity, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Lithium-ion batteries are everywhere–there’s probably one in the cell phone in your pocket, in the laptop on your desk, and in the wireless headphones in your ears. While they’ve become commonplace, lithium-ion batteries come with some inconvenient truths – particularly that they’re prone to fires and corrosive leaks. This is why we’re seeing patterns such as recalls for battery electric vehicles (BEVs), specific regulations for traveling with lithium-ion batteries on airplanes, and major fires breaking out in stationary applications and aboard shipping vessels transporting electric vehicles.