Battery module, battery pack including said battery module, and energy storage system and vehicle including the battery pack

Abstract

A battery module according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises: multiple battery cells; at least one cooling channel, which is disposed on at least one side of the multiple battery cells and through which cooling water flows to cool the multiple battery cells; and at least one cooling fin unit disposed in contact with the at least one cooling channel and provided with at least one support rib to support the at least one cooling channel.

Description

Battery module, battery pack including said battery module, and energy storage system and vehicle including the battery pack Technology sector This description refers to a battery module, a battery pack including the battery module, an energy storage system, and a vehicle including the battery pack. This application claims priority with respect to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2021-0189011, filed on December 27, 2021 in the Republic of Korea. Background of the invention Secondary batteries have broad applicability across various product groups and electrical characteristics, such as high energy density. Consequently, they are commonly used not only in mobile devices but also in electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). Because secondary batteries can drastically reduce fossil fuel consumption and do not generate the byproducts associated with energy use, they are gaining traction as a novel alternative energy source that improves environmental compatibility and energy efficiency. The types of secondary batteries widely used today include lithium-ion batteries, lithium-polymer batteries, nickel-cadmium batteries, nickel-metal hydride batteries, and nickel-zinc batteries. The operating voltage of a single secondary battery cell ranges from approximately 2.5 V to approximately 4.5 V. Therefore, when a higher output voltage is required, a battery pack can be configured by connecting multiple battery cells in series. Similarly, a battery pack can be configured by connecting multiple battery cells in parallel, depending on the required charge / discharge capacity. Consequently, the number of battery cells in a battery pack can be determined in various ways based on the required output voltage and / or charge / discharge capacity. Meanwhile, when a battery pack is configured by connecting multiple battery cells in series / parallel, generally, a battery module that includes at least one battery cell is configured first, and other components are added using the at least one battery module to configure a battery pack or battery rack. A conventional battery module typically includes multiple battery cells stacked together and a module housing that contains them. In such a conventional battery module, if one battery cell overheats due to an abnormal situation, the heat generated in the overheated cell is transferred to adjacent cells, causing thermal runaway. This can lead to increased risks, such as battery module explosion. Therefore, it is necessary to find a way to provide a battery module capable of preventing thermal runaway when an abnormal situation occurs in a battery cell, a battery pack that includes the battery module, and an energy storage system and vehicle that include the battery pack. EP 3352292 A1 describes cartridges used to house or stack multiple secondary batteries when configuring a battery module that includes the secondary batteries. KR 20150074384 A1 describes a secondary battery module in which multiple battery cells are stacked and spaced. Explanation of the invention Technical problem The present description is designed to solve problems in the related art and, therefore, the present description is intended to provide a battery module capable of preventing thermal runaway when an abnormal situation occurs in a battery cell, a battery pack including the battery module, and an energy storage system and vehicle including the battery pack. Technical solution In the present description, a battery module is provided as described in claim 1. Furthermore, preferably, the cooling channel can be provided in plurality, and the multiple cooling channels can be provided on the upper and lower sides of the multiple battery cells. Also, preferably, at least one cooling fin unit can be arranged in contact with the cooling channels provided on the upper and lower sides of the multiple battery cells. Furthermore, preferably, the cooling fin unit can be provided in plurality, and the multiple cooling fin units can be arranged between the multiple battery cells. Also, preferably, at least one cooling fin unit can communicate with the multiple cooling channels. Also, preferably, the at least one cooling fin unit may include a fin channel connected to the multiple cooling channels and into which the coolant flows. Also, preferably, the at least one support rib may include a channel support extending from one end of the at least one cooling fin unit and supporting the at least one cooling channel; and a cell support extending from the channel support and supporting the multiple battery cells. Also, preferably, the cell support can be bent at a predetermined angle from the channel support. Also, preferably, at least one support rib can be integrally formed with at least one cooling fin unit. Furthermore, preferably, the support rib may be provided in plurality, and the multiple support ribs may be arranged to face each other at at least one end of the cooling fin unit. In addition, the present description provides a battery pack comprising: at least one battery module according to the above embodiments; and a pack housing for the at least one battery module. Furthermore, the present description provides an energy storage system, comprising at least one battery pack according to the above embodiment. Furthermore, the present description provides a vehicle, comprising at least one battery pack according to the above embodiment. Advantageous effects According to several embodiments as described above, a battery module can be provided that is capable of preventing thermal runaway when an abnormal situation occurs in a battery cell, a battery pack that includes the battery module, and an energy storage system and a vehicle that include the battery pack. Brief description of the drawings The accompanying drawings illustrate a preferred embodiment of the present description and, together with the above description, serve to provide a greater understanding of the technical features of the present description; therefore, the present description is not to be construed as being limited to the drawings. Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating a battery module according to one embodiment of the present description. Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating a main part of the battery module of Figure 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram to explain a cooling fin unit of the battery module of FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a major part of the cooling fin unit of FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a diagram to explain a cooling mechanism for the battery module of FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram to explain a thermal runaway prevention mechanism when an abnormal situation occurs in the battery module of FIG. 1. FIG.7 is a diagram to explain a battery pack according to one embodiment of the present description. Preferred embodiment of the invention The present description will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, which show illustrative embodiments of the present description. These embodiments are provided so that the present description is comprehensive and complete, and fully conveys the concept herein to a person of ordinary skill in the art. The present description can be implemented in many different ways and should not be interpreted as being limited to the embodiments stated herein. Furthermore, for ease of understanding, the accompanying drawings are not drawn to scale, and the dimensions of some components may be exaggerated. FIG. 1 is a diagram to explain a battery module according to an embodiment of the present description, FIG. 2 is a diagram to explain a main part of the battery module of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a diagram to explain a cooling fin unit of the battery module of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the cooling fin unit of FIG. 3. With reference to FIGS. 1 to 4, a battery module 10 includes multiple battery cells 100, a cooling channel 200, and at least one cooling fin unit 300. The multiple 100 battery cells are secondary batteries and can be supplied as a pouch-type secondary battery, a prismatic secondary battery, or a cylindrical secondary battery. Hereafter, in the present embodiment, the multiple 100 battery cells will be described as supplied as a pouch-type secondary battery. The multiple battery cells 100 may each include a battery case housing the electrode assembly and an electrode conductor 150 projecting out of the battery case and connected to the electrode assembly. The cooling channel 200 may be provided on at least one of the top and bottom sides of the multiple battery cells 100. A coolant (C, see FIG. 5) for cooling the multiple battery cells 100 may flow through the cooling channel 200. The 200 cooling channel can be provided in plurality. Multiple 200 cooling channels can be provided on both the top and bottom sides of the multiple 100 battery cells. At least one cooling fin unit 300 is arranged in contact with at least one cooling channel 200. Specifically, at least one cooling fin unit 300 may be arranged in contact with the cooling channels 200 provided on the upper and lower sides of the multiple battery cells 100. In addition, at least one cooling fin unit 300 may communicate with the multiple cooling channels 200. At least one cooling fin unit 300 may be provided in plurality. Multiple cooling fin units 300 may be arranged between multiple battery cells 100. From here on, the multiple 300 cooling fin units will be described in more detail. The multiple 300 cooling fin units may include a 310 fin body, and include a 330 fin channel, and a 350 support rib, respectively. The finned body 310 is positioned between the multiple 100 battery cells and can be arranged lengthwise along the vertical direction of the multiple 100 battery cells. The finned body 310 can be made of a metallic material with high thermal conductivity. The finned channel 330 is provided within the finned body 310 and can be formed lengthwise along the longitudinal direction of the finned body 310. The finned channel 330 communicates with the multiple cooling channels 200. Consequently, coolant can flow into the finned channel 330. The cooling efficiency of the multiple battery cells 100 can be further improved as coolant flows through the finned channel 330. The 350 support rib extends from one end of the at least one 300 cooling fin unit, specifically, one end of the 310 fin body, supports the at least one cooling channel and can support at least one 100 battery cell among the multiple 100 battery cells. The support rib 350 may be provided and mounted as a separate member on the at least one cooling fin unit 300 or may be integrally formed with the at least one cooling fin unit 300. Hereinafter, in this embodiment, the support rib 350 is described in a limited way as having a configuration integrally formed with the at least one cooling fin unit 300. Specifically, the support rib 350 may be integrally formed with the fin body 310 of the at least one cooling fin unit 300. The 350 support rib can be supplied in plurality. The multiple support ribs 350 can be arranged to face each other at one end of the cooling fin unit 300. Specifically, the multiple support ribs 350 can be arranged to face each other at at least one end of the cooling fin unit 300, more specifically, at least one of the upper and lower ends of the fin body 310. The multiple 350 support ribs may include a 352 channel support and a 354 cell support. The channel support 352 extends from one end of at least one cooling fin unit 300, specifically, one end of the fin body 310, more specifically, one upper end of the fin body 310, and can support at least one cooling channel 200. The channel support 352 extends from one end of the at least one cooling fin unit 300, specifically, an upper end of the fin body 310, and can support the at least one cooling channel 200. The 354 cell holder extends from the 352 channel holder and can support multiple 100 battery cells. The 354 cell holder can be bent at a predetermined angle from the 352 channel holder. Specifically, the 354 cell holder can be bent at a predetermined angle in one direction from the 352 channel holder toward the 100 battery cell. The 10 battery module includes a 400 channel connection portion. The channel connection portion 400 connects to the cooling channel 200 between the cooling channel 200 and the cooling fin unit 300. The channel connection portion 400 is configured to at least partially fuse or separate from the cooling channel 200 or deflect from the cooling channel 200 in response to an external shock or temperature increase under abnormal conditions. At least one or more connection ports 450 capable of supplying coolant to the fin channel 330 of the cooling fin unit 300 are provided in the channel connection portion 400. Hereinafter, in this embodiment, the connection port 450 will be described as being provided in plurality. From here on, a cooling mechanism for battery module 10 will be described in more detail according to an embodiment of the present description. FIG. 5 is a diagram to explain a cooling mechanism for the battery module of FIG. 1. With reference to FIG. 5, the cooling channel 200 can cool the battery cells 100 by circulating coolant C to cool them. Here, the coolant C from the cooling channel 200 can flow into the finned channel 330 of the cooling finned unit 300 through the connection hole 450 of the channel connection portion 400. As coolant C flows into the cooling finned unit 300, the cooling efficiency of the battery cells 100 can be further improved. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the cooling channel 200 through which the coolant C flows can be supported in a more stable manner through the support rib 350 of the cooling fin unit 300. From here on, a thermal runaway prevention mechanism for battery module 10 will be described in more detail according to an embodiment of the present description. FIG. 6 is a diagram to explain a thermal runaway prevention mechanism when an abnormal situation occurs in the battery module of FIG. 1. With reference to FIG. 6, in at least one of the 100 battery cells of the 10 battery module, a hazardous situation that may lead to a fire or similar may occur due to overheating caused by an abnormal situation. When overheating occurs in battery cell 100, the temperature of the battery cell 100 increases and the battery cell 100 may expand. Due to an external impact or a temperature increase in such an abnormal situation, the channel connection portion 400 is configured to melt or at least partially separate from the cooling channel 200 or to deviate from the cooling channel 200. Therefore, the cooling channel 200 opens so that coolant C escapes out of the cooling channel 200 and acts as a fire extinguishing agent to suppress thermal runaway or fire in the battery cell 100 where the abnormal situation occurs. Meanwhile, the 350 support rib of the 300 cooling fin unit supports the 100 battery cells when the 400 channel connection portion and the 200 cooling channel are displaced or deformed and can therefore maintain the arrangement of the 100 battery cells as much as possible. If the support structure of the 100 battery cells collapses when the 400 channel connection portion and the 200 cooling channel are deflected or deformed, the entire structure of the 10 battery module may collapse, potentially leading to a more dangerous thermal runaway or hazardous situation. In this embodiment, since the 100 battery cells can be supported by the 350 support rib even in such an abnormal situation, the risk of structural collapse of the entire 10 battery module can be significantly mitigated. Furthermore, the 350 support rib can also act as a barrier between adjacent 100 battery cells, effectively preventing flames or sparks that may occur in the 100 battery cell where the abnormal situation arises from spreading to adjacent 100 battery cells.As such, in the case of an abnormal situation, the battery module 10 according to this embodiment can significantly reduce the risk that may lead to thermal runaway of the entire battery module 10, through the cooling channel 200, the cooling fin unit 300, and the channel connection portion 400. Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating a battery pack according to one embodiment of the present description. With reference to Figure 7, a battery pack 1 may include at least one or more battery modules 10 of the above embodiment and a pack case 50 to house the at least one or more battery modules 10. At least one or more battery packs 1 may be provided as a power source for an energy storage system or a vehicle. In addition, it is also possible for the battery pack 1 to be provided in other devices, instruments, and installations that use a secondary battery, besides the energy storage system or the vehicle. As such, devices, instruments and equipment that include battery pack 1, such as an energy storage system or a vehicle that includes battery pack 1 according to the present embodiment, may implement devices, instruments, installations or the like, such as an energy storage system or a vehicle, that have all the advantages of the battery module 10 described above. According to several embodiments as described above, a battery module 10 can be provided that is capable of preventing thermal runaway when an abnormal situation occurs in a battery cell 100, a battery pack 1 that includes the battery module 10, and an energy storage system and a vehicle that include the battery pack 1. Although preferred embodiments of the present description have been shown and described, the present description is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and various modifications within the scope of the claims can be made by a person skilled in the art to which the present description pertains.

Claims

1. A battery module (10), comprising: multiple battery cells (100); at least one cooling channel (200) provided on at least one side of the multiple battery cells (100) and through which a coolant (C) can flow to cool the multiple battery cells (100); at least one cooling fin unit (300) disposed in contact with at least one cooling channel (200) and having at least one support rib (350) to support the at least one cooling channel (200), and through which the coolant (C) can flow; and a channel connection portion (400) connected to the cooling channel (200) between the cooling channel (200) and the cooling fin unit (300), wherein at least one connection hole (450) is provided in the channel connection portion (400) to supply refrigerant (C) to a cooling fin channel (330) of the cooling fin unit (300),wherein the channel connection portion (400) is configured to at least partially melt, separate from, or deviate from the cooling channel (200) due to an external shock or temperature increase, such that the coolant (C) escapes from the cooling channel (200) and acts as a fire-extinguishing agent to suppress thermal runaway or fire in the battery cells (100) where the abnormal situation occurs.

2. The battery module (10) according to claim 1, wherein the cooling channel (200) is provided in plurality, and wherein the multiple cooling channels (200) are provided on the upper and lower sides of the multiple battery cells (100).

3. The battery module (10) according to claim 2,wherein the at least one cooling fin unit (300) is arranged in contact with the cooling channels (200) provided on the upper and lower sides of the multiple battery cells (100).

4. The battery module (10) according to claim 3, wherein the cooling fin unit (300) is provided in plurality, and wherein the multiple cooling fin units (300) are arranged between the multiple battery cells (100).

5. The battery module (10) according to claim 3, wherein the at least one cooling fin unit (300) communicates with the multiple cooling channels (200).

6. The battery module (10) according to claim 5, wherein the at least one cooling fin unit (300) includes the fin channel (330) connected to the multiple cooling channels (200) and into which the coolant (C) flows.

7. The battery module (10) according to claim 1,wherein the at least one support rib (350) includes: a channel support (352) extending from one end of the at least one cooling fin unit (300) and supporting the at least one cooling channel (200); and a cell support (354) extending from the channel support (352) and supporting the multiple battery cells (100).

8. The battery module (10) according to claim 7, wherein the cell support (354) is bent at a predetermined angle from the channel support (352).

9. The battery module (10) according to claim 1, wherein the at least one support rib (350) is integrally formed with the at least one cooling fin unit (300).

10. The battery module (10) according to claim 1, wherein the support rib (350) is provided in plurality,and wherein the multiple support ribs (350) are arranged to face each other at at least one end of the cooling fin unit (300).

11. A battery pack (1), comprising: at least one battery module (10) according to claim 1; and a pack housing (50) accommodating the at least one battery module (1).

12. An energy storage system, comprising at least one battery pack (1) according to claim 11.

13. A vehicle, comprising at least one battery pack (1) according to claim 11.

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