Abusive thermal testing of batteries, modules and cells
Assess how your batteries react to heat, fire and thermal propagation
The Emitech Group offers a comprehensive range of thermal abuse tests for batteries, modules and cells to validate their behaviour under extreme temperature conditions or when exposed to fire.
These tests enable the thermal safety of lithium-ion energy storage systems to be characterised in the face of critical failure scenarios: overheating, runaway, propagation to neighbouring cells, and exposure to an external fire. They cover both design validation and regulatory approval requirements.
Why are thermal tests in the category of abusive tests?
Batteries exposed to abnormal temperatures may:
- Suffer thermal runaway
- Spread an incident from one cell to another
- Release flammable or toxic gases (H₂, CO, HF, HCN, etc.)
- Cause a fire or explosion
These tests validate the robustness of the materials, the effectiveness of safety devices (BMS, valves, compartmentalisation) and risk management in the event of overheating or exposure to fire — and ensure compliance with regulatory approval requirements.
What standards and benchmarks are covered?
UN 38.3 (Test T.4 — thermal test, Test T.5 — external short-circuit test)
ECE R100 — Annex 9E (fire test) and Articles 6.13 to 6.15 (thermal propagation)
UL 2580 / UL 1973 / UL 1642 / UL 9540A
IEC 62619 / IEC 62660-2
ISO 12405 / SAE J2464 / SAE J2929
GB 38031
ECE R118 / FR ISO 3795 / FMVSS302 (fire resistance of materials and components)
Types of thermal tests proposed for abuse tests
Over-temperature
- Gradual heating in a climatic chamber or using a heating element.
- Monitoring of thermal behaviour up to the critical threshold.
- Validation of mechanical, electrical and chemical performance under heating conditions.
Thermal runaway
- Controlled initiation of a runaway reaction in a cell, in accordance with standardised methods:
- Heating pad (IEC/SAE)
- Internal short circuit (pre-fitting to be carried out by the manufacturer beforehand)
- Nail penetration (UL/SAE/GB)
- Observation of the cell’s response: time to runaway, temperatures reached, nature and volume of gases released, presence of flames.
Thermal propagation
- Assessment of the propagation of a runaway reaction to adjacent cells and modules.
- Validation of the anti-propagation design and safety systems (containment, ventilation, thermal insulation).
- Explicit regulatory requirement of R100.
Exposure to fire (fire resistance)
- Direct flame exposure (70 seconds) and indirect exposure via a refractory screen (60 seconds).
- Simulation of vehicle fire conditions.
- Monitoring of ignition, spatter, pressure and gases.
- Post-exposure monitoring until complete cooling.
Talk to our battery abuse test experts
Our dedicated technical resources within the Emitech Group
Test chambers and fire zones
- Climate chambers from -60°C to +180°C
- Dedicated lithium-ion battery test cells, ventilated and enclosed
Instrumentation and data acquisition
- 96-channel isolated 1000 V data acquisition (temperature, pressure, flame)
- Infrared (IR) cameras + high-speed HD cameras — up to 4 synchronised views
- Optical and electrical detection of runaway onset
Analysis of emitted gases
- Gas analyser: H₂, CO, CO₂, NOx, SO₂, CxHy
- Colorimetric tubes: HF, HCN, HBr, H₂S
Environmental management
- Flue gas treatment (scrubbing, filtration)
- Cooling water treatment (COD, BOD, suspended solids, heavy metals)
What guarantees of safety and risk management does the Emitech Group implement?
- Contained test areas with automatic fire suppression
- Specific protocols for high-capacity batteries
- Management of toxic gases, residues and combustion products
- Electrical safety certification for batteries for all teams.
Why choose the Emitech Group for your abuse tests?
- Recognised expertise in thermal testing and lithium-ion batteries, drawing on aerospace know-how and applied to e-mobility
- Capability to test cells, modules and packs within an integrated abuse test plan
- Collaboration with notified bodies for R100 certifications
- Post-failure analyses and comparative studies of materials (casing, insulation, seals)
- Integration into comprehensive safety validation programmes (EMC, vibration, climatic, fire)
Needs
Discover a selection of additional resources that explore topics related to this page including regulatory contexts, technical articles, and specific areas of expertise. These materials provide further insight to help you better understand the key challenges and available solutions.
Contact us for a quote
