Waters introduces coin cell DSC system to improve battery safety testing

Waters Corporation has launched the Waters TA Instruments™ Coin Cell Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC), a new instrument designed for battery scientists to directly test fully assembled coin cells. The system integrates thermal, evolved gas, and electrochemical analysis in a single experiment, enabling earlier insights into thermal runaway and battery failure while reducing sample preparation time and supporting battery development and QA/QC workflows.

Integrated thermal, gas, and electrochemical analysis for battery safety

The Coin Cell DSC is the only commercially available DSC that provides multidimensional data capture, allowing researchers to collect whole-cell thermal data while simultaneously measuring evolved gas and electrochemical performance. By incorporating voltage monitoring and charge/discharge capability, the system enables direct correlation of thermal and electrochemical behavior for earlier detection of thermal runaway and battery failure mechanisms.

The instrument can be coupled with mass spectrometry (MS), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), or Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) to enable direct analysis of off-gas composition, providing more descriptive insights into battery safety and performance.

Unique whole-cell capsule design reduces preparation time

The Coin Cell DSC introduces a unique capsule design that eliminates the need for time-consuming cell teardown. This whole-cell approach reduces average sample preparation time by more than 90%, while preserving sample integrity and significantly accelerating data generation for battery research and quality control.

Broad temperature range for development and QA/QC

With an industry-leading temperature range from –80°C to 600°C, the Coin Cell DSC supports comprehensive analysis of both low- and high-temperature behavior in coin cell batteries. This broad range expands potential applications in battery development, safety testing, and QA/QC, helping researchers and manufacturers better understand thermal stability across a wide range of operating conditions.

Streamlining battery safety testing compared to traditional methods

Traditional battery safety testing methods, such as accelerating rate calorimetry (ARC), are typically used during late-stage research and development and require large cell formats, specialized facilities, and long experiment times. In contrast, the Waters TA Instruments Coin Cell DSC enables direct evaluation of intact coin cells earlier and faster in the development process, streamlining workflows and reducing risk by providing earlier, more detailed insights into battery thermal stability and safety.

Advancing battery thermal analysis and early-stage safety research

“The Coin Cell DSC represents a significant advancement in battery thermal analysis,” said Yu Cheng, Vice President, Research and Development and Product Solutions, Materials Sciences, Waters Corporation.

“Simultaneously capturing thermal, evolved gas, and electrochemical data is not only faster, but also correlates data from the same sample for more exacting insights earlier in development. With its broad temperature range and streamlined workflows, the system is designed to reduce experimental complexity while outperforming current approaches.”

Shirley Meng, Professor, Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago and Director, Energy Storage Research Alliance (ESRA), added, “The battery industry has long needed a solution that bridges the gap between materials thermal analysis and full-cell DSC testing. This technology enables the evaluation of full-cell thermal stability by incorporating gas analysis and electrochemical data — capabilities that are essential for advancing early-stage battery safety research.”

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