Cubic Hydrogen Sensor Empowers Electric Vehicles Thermal Runaway Monitoring

As electric vehicle (EV) adoption continues to accelerate worldwide, the Li-battery system has become one of the most critical parts of automotive industry, directly influencing overall vehicle performance. At the same time, the increasing Li-battery energy density is making Li-battery safety a growing industry concern, particularly because lithium-ion batteries carry the risk of thermal runaway under conditions such as internal short circuits, overcharging, and mechanical damage. Once triggered, thermal runaway can lead to rapid heat accumulation, gas venting, fire, and even explosion, threatening passenger safety, damaging public infrastructure, which creates serious challenges for real-time monitoring and emergency response. As a result, achieving earlier and more reliable thermal runaway detection in increasingly complex Li-battery systems has become a key priority for the EV industry.

Research has shown that during EV thermal runaway, gas release occur earlier than a noticeable temperature rise, making gas sensing a more effective approach for earlier hazard detection. Among the gases generated in the initial stage of Li-battery failure, hydrogen (H2) is often one of the main gases to be detected and is regarded as one of the important early warning signals for thermal runaway monitoring.

In response to the market demand, Cubic, as an automotive Tier 1 supplier, has developed the ATRS-1016 series hydrogen sensor based on MEMS thermal conductivity technology for the detection of H2 released during the early stage of EV thermal runaway event, providing early warning signal to support safety alarm strategies. The Cubic ATRS-1016 series features fast response, enabling rapid detection of hydrogen release in critical safety scenarios. Built with automotive-grade components, the sensor is designed in accordance with AEC-Q100 automotive electronics requirements and supports EMC compliance for a wide range of vehicle platforms, helping customers simplify system integration. The hydrogen sensor supports a wide H2 detection range from 0 to 4% vol and delivers stable performance even under harsh operating conditions. Furthermore, the low cross-interference with other gases helps ensure more stable and accurate sensing performance in complex Li-battery pack environments. In addition to the core features, the hydrogen sensor offers a long lifespan of more than 10 years, making it an ideal monitoring solution for thermal runaway monitoring.

In addition to electric vehicles, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are also becoming a growing trend as the global automotive industry transit toward decarbonization. Designed for automotive excellence, Cubic hydrogen sensor is also suitable for onboard hydrogen leak detection in hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, helping improve vehicle safety.

Designed for automotive excellence, by enabling earlier hydrogen detection in EV Li-battery systems, Cubic hydrogen sensor supports more proactive thermal management. As the EV industry places greater emphasis on intelligent monitoring, the demand for fast, accurate, and durable gas sensing solutions is expected to continue rising. With fully independent development and production capabilities for core automotive-grade components, Cubic will continue to leverage sensing technology expertise to deliver reliable thermal runaway monitoring solutions for emerging vehicle safety applications, supporting the development of safer and more advanced automotive industry.

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