SWM International, a global provider of high performance specialty papers and nonwovens, has joined the Soteria Battery Innovation Group (BIG). SWM is the leading supplier of nonwoven battery separator papers in the alkaline battery market and is expanding its solutions for the global energy storage industry.

The Soteria Battery Innovation Group (BIG) is a consortium of companies dedicated to eliminating self-ignition in lithium ion batteries. Member companies represent the whole supply chain, including raw material and equipment suppliers, component manufacturers and battery producers, and OEMs. Soteria's separator and current collector technology helps prevent internal cell short circuits from escalating into thermal runaway. The Soteria BIG is building an open innovation platform around the Soteria architecture, with each member company using its own core expertise to advance the technology in ways that will promote its own commercial success.

"The power of the consortium comes from member companies like SWM, which brings key expertise in manufacturing high quality nonwovens that can be applied to making thin, uniform separators to improve the safety of lithium ion batteries in growing applications like electric vehicles and energy storage. We look forward to working closely together to further develop separators for the global energy and transportation industries," says Brian Morin, CEO of Soteria BIG.

"SWM is very pleased to join the forward-looking initiative put together by Soteria. Our decades of experience in the commercial supply of high-performance nonwoven separators, combined with state-of-the-art manufacturing assets and focus on designing highly engineered and demanding materials, gives us a strong base as we partner with Soteria BIG to explore new and exciting opportunities," says Philippe Ragot, business director, Specialty Papers for SWM.