Inline battery electrolyte leak detection

A system configured to detect leakage of an electrolyte from a prismatic battery cell, the system comprising:

• a probe configured to contact the prismatic battery cell and create an air-tight connection between the probe and the prismatic battery cell over a fill port of the prismatic battery cell that has been closed with a seal;
• a pump in fluid communication with the probe, the pump configured to draw a vacuum through the probe;
• a housing defining a chamber including a window that is transparent to infrared radiation, the probe extends from the housing, the pump is connected to the housing to draw the vacuum through the probe into the chamber;
• and
• an infrared camera pointing at the window, the infrared camera configured to detect the electrolyte within the chamber pulled from the prismatic battery cell through the seal of the fill port by the vacuum generated by the pump, presence of the electrolyte within the chamber is indicative of the seal of the fill port of the prismatic battery cell being compromised.

A method for detecting leakage of electrolyte out of a prismatic battery cell, the method comprising:

• moving a probe of a test system into contact with an exterior case of the prismatic battery cell over a fill port of the prismatic battery cell that has been closed with a seal to create an air-tight connection between the probe and the exterior case;
• activating a pump to draw a vacuum from the fill port through the probe and through a housing of the test system defining a chamber including a window;
• and
• monitoring the chamber for a presence of the electrolyte with an infrared camera pointed at the window, the presence of the electrolyte within the chamber detected by the infrared camera is indicative of the fill port of the prismatic battery cell being compromised.