Battery Safety and Sustainability Research and Testing Center
UM-Dearborn is establishing the first open-access EV battery thermal-runaway testing facility in Michigan, capitalizing on the campus's expertise in applied battery research and the transportation industry to support research and development that helps prevent thermal failure and advances a safer, more sustainable transportation future. Electric vehicle (EV) battery research is critical to a sustainable, environmentally equitable future and to the economy of Southeast Michigan and the mobility industry.
The facility will enable the design and manufacture of safer batteries, particularly electric vehicle batteries, train the next generation of battery engineers, and give Michigan manufacturers a local partner to test and improve their designs. It will advance discoveries that improve EV battery design, train the future workforce, and lead to partnerships with private-sector collaborators as a Research Core facility, empowering researchers and students to take on one of our most pressing and complex global challenges while enabling strong community engagement.
The lab will also extend its capabilities to private-sector collaborators through a fee-for-service framework: industry partners, start-ups, and independent researchers will be able to access specialized equipment, technical expertise, and testing protocols for battery performance benchmarking, materials evaluation, safety validation, and environmental impact analyses — accelerating the commercialization of sustainable battery technologies and enabling rapid prototyping and product development.
U-M Teams
UM-Dearborn (opens in new tab)
Secondary Contacts
Lei Chen (UM-Dearborn College of Engineering and Computer Science), Krisanu Bandyopadhyay (UM-Dearborn College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters)
