Data blind spot
Physical precursors such as gas venting and swelling are not adequately captured as data, which limits after-the-fact analysis and learning.
LAB INNOVATEUS · E-CNTShield
CNT Sensing Technology for Safety First.
An ultra-thin sensor made from 40nm-class CNT material attaches directly to the battery cell and reads physical precursors that can appear before electrical signals do. Hardware first, then monitoring SaaS, then a battery data platform.
- Sensor
- 40nm-class CNT · ultra-thin
- Monitoring
- Cell-level · real-time
- Signals
- Pressure · Temperature · Swelling · Impact
- Deployment
- ESS · Data Center · Logistics · EV
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01Problem
Electrical signals can arrive late.
Battery anomalies can appear as gas, swelling, temperature change or physical deformation before a voltage anomaly is observed. There is a window that a BMS built around electrical signals may not see.
CAGR20.1%Global battery management system (BMS) market, 2026–2035
Recent casesThermal runaway after impactESS facility fire
What E-CNTShield adds
What a conventional BMS mainly observes
- t₁
Physical change
Gas, pressure and micro-deformation can appear at the cell first.
What E-CNTShield adds - t₂
Swelling
The cell expands and structural stress builds. Hard to catch visually or electrically.
What E-CNTShield adds - t₃
Electrical change
Voltage and current anomalies become observable — the primary window for most BMS.
What a conventional BMS mainly observes - t₄
Thermal event
The window that can lead to thermal runaway. This is post-incident territory.
What a conventional BMS mainly observes
Limits of current practice
01 02 Detection timing gap
A gap opens between when the physical event occurs and when an electrical signal registers it.
03 Hard to act early
Without precursor data there is no basis for a decision, so response slides to after the fact.
02How it works
An ultra-thin CNT sensor on the cell.
Eight steps, from material to cell attachment, multi-parameter sensing and early-signal monitoring.
- 01
Battery Cell
The unit of monitoring is the cell, not the pack. Pack averages hide individual cell anomalies.
- 02
CNT · Graphene
Carbon nanotubes and graphene — carbon atoms bonded in a hexagonal lattice, with high strength and electrical and thermal conductivity.
- 03
Ultra-thin Sensor Sheet
40nm-class CNT material is formed into an ultra-thin, flexible sensor sheet that adds little weight or volume to the cell.
- 04
Cell Attachment
Applied directly to the cell surface. The flexible form follows the cell geometry.
- 05
Impact · Pressure
Micro-scale physical distortion from external impact is read in the same layer.
- 06
Temperature
Fine temperature change is tracked at the surface of each individual cell.
- 07
Swelling
Swelling — the cell expanding as it degrades — is detected as a change in form.
- 08
Early Signal Monitoring
Physical signals are combined and monitored as early indicators. We do not publish unverified detection times.
- Pressure
- Thermal
- Swelling
- Impact
In the lab
A CNT sensor sheet on a real cell.
E-CNTShield is a printed sensor sheet. In the lab it is attached to battery cell surfaces, placed between cells in a module and read out as a resistance map.
Technology
Printed sensor sheet 
Attached to the cell surface 
Placed between cells in a module
03Applications
ESS first, then wherever cells move.
We start with stationary ESS and data centers, then expand to battery logistics and high-density battery applications.
- 01ESSFirst market
Stationary energy storage, where battery safety management matters. Existing installations can be retrofitted.
- 02Data CenterFirst market
UPS battery rooms, where many cells sit in one place and the facility cannot go down, so condition has to be watched continuously.
- 03Battery LogisticsExpansion
Tracking cell condition through storage and transport, where custody changes hands repeatedly.
- 04Electric VehicleExpansion
Cell packs under continuous vibration and impact, where pack averages mask individual cell anomalies.
- 05Humanoid / RoboticsLong term
High-density batteries in tight, constantly moving modules, where sensing has to be miniaturized.
Deployment01 / 05
Adds cell-level pressure, temperature and swelling to operational data.
04Team
Who builds it.
A CNT materials specialist with over ten years in battery sensor R&D, working across carbon-based composites, smart skin sensors, battery safety management and structural health monitoring.
- Professor, Hanyang University ERICA
- Ph.D., Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics — Columbia University
- Assistant Professor, University of Plymouth, UK
Research team · 7
LAB INNOVATEUS, Hanyang University ERICA
Postdoctoral Researcher
Puneet Sagar
Postdoctoral Researcher
Sangeen Khan
Ph.D. Candidate
Yu-Jin Jung
Ph.D. Candidate
Ga-Hyeon Eom
Ph.D. Candidate
Liu Lichao
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Do-Hyun Kim
Lab Administrator
Julia Song
- Registered patents (KR)
- 10
- Filed patents (KR)
- 25
- SCI(E) papers
- 50+
- Disclosable PoC
- Pending
05FAQ
Frequently asked.
The questions that come up before meetings. We do not publish unverified performance figures.
- What is LAB INNOVATEUS?
- LAB INNOVATEUS is a deep-tech company developing battery safety monitoring technology. Building on carbon nanotube (CNT) sensing and structural health monitoring research at Hanyang University ERICA, it develops E-CNTShield, a cell-level battery safety monitoring solution.
- What is E-CNTShield?
- E-CNTShield combines an ultra-thin CNT sensor that attaches directly to the battery cell surface with monitoring software that processes its signals. The sensor is an ultra-thin sheet made from 40nm-class CNT material, so it adds little weight or volume to the cell.
- What does it sense?
- Pressure, temperature, swelling (cell expansion) and external impact, all collected in a single sensor layer. Reading the four together produces a wider picture of cell condition than any single signal.
- How is this different from a conventional BMS?
- A conventional BMS judges battery condition mainly from electrical signals such as voltage and current. E-CNTShield senses the physical precursors that can appear before those electrical signals — pressure change, temperature change, swelling, deformation — at the level of the individual cell. It complements the BMS rather than replacing it.
- Where can it be applied?
- The first markets are stationary ESS and data center UPS battery rooms, and existing installations can be retrofitted. From there it expands into battery logistics, electric vehicles and humanoid robotics.
- What is the business model?
- Three stages: supplying sensor module hardware, expanding into a subscription SaaS that monitors battery condition in real time, and building a battery data platform on top of that.
- Who is behind it?
- LAB INNOVATEUS was founded by Sung-Hwan Jang (장승환), its CEO/CTO — a professor at Hanyang University ERICA and a CNT materials specialist with a Ph.D. from Columbia University. E-CNTShield is developed with the LAB INNOVATEUS research team at Hanyang University ERICA, including postdoctoral researchers and Ph.D. candidates.
- How far is the technology validated?
- The team holds 10 registered Korean patents, 25 filings and over 50 SCI(E) papers in CNT-based sensing and structural health monitoring. Field validation for battery applications is in progress, and we do not publish unverified detection-time or accuracy figures.
06Contact
Looking for partners to validate with.
For sensor module supply, field PoC, joint research and investment inquiries, please email us.
innovateus.lab@gmail.comEmail us