Battery thermal runaway means that due to various reasons, too much heat is generated inside the battery, which cannot effectively dissipate heat or control the temperature, and ultimately leads to the battery runaway state. For example, thermal runaway can be triggered by the lithium-ion battery itself or by external causes. Reasonable heat dissipation and insulation design for battery cells and battery packs can control the spread of thermal runaway. When a battery cell triggers thermal runaway, the heat increases sharply, and the heat dissipation is far less than the heat dissipation. At this time, it is necessary to add insulation materials between the battery cells to prevent the heat from spreading to the surrounding battery, resulting in thermal runaway of the module.

As a new type of insulating material, aerogel material has the advantages of light weight, low thermal conductivity, excellent flame retardancy and environmental protection compared with traditional insulating materials. In addition, the aerogel composite material, which is composed of aerogel and engineering materials, can carry out comprehensive contact encapsulation of the battery for a long time and provide a full range of thermal insulation protection.

In the low temperature environment of new energy batteries, the movement ability of charged electrons in the positive and negative electrode materials becomes worse, resulting in the decline of battery capacity and reduced battery life. The excellent thermal insulation performance of aerogel can make each cell in the new energy battery not affected by external low temperature. In terms of solving the thermal insulation of new energy batteries in low temperature environments and thermal runaway diffusion of ternary batteries in high temperature environments, aerogel has been jointly recognized by the two key battery routes and is the preferred material for new energy battery insulation.

It should be noted that the application of aerogel as a battery thermal runaway and thermal barrier technology is still in the research and development stage, and has not yet been widely commercialized. However, it shows great potential and could play an important role in future battery technology.