Not per week goes by with out seeing a video, information merchandise, or tweet a few lithium-ion battery hearth. Simply over the weekend, there was news in Canada of a Tesla Mannequin Y 2021 driver who needed to break a window to flee after his automobile shut down and caught hearth unexpectedly. The automobile misplaced energy, locked him inside, and began filling up with smoke.
The issue is large. Incidents vary from exploding roadside mopeds to ebike batteries that catch hearth whereas charging at residence, to fires burning on cargo ships holding electrical autos. And it’s getting worse as increasingly units depend on lithium-ion batteries.
The unique video that piqued my curiosity:
This text is a part of a three-part sequence wanting on the downside of lithium battery fires. I’ve watched video footage, and mapped a timeline of the fires over the past 18 months with a corresponding spreadsheet of the information articles.
I wished to higher perceive the issue, so I’ve spoken to battery scientists, engineers, and consultants. I’ve additionally interviewed a number of firms that provide a variety of options to stop fires from beginning.
However earlier than we dig into why they happen, let’s perceive the issue higher.
The extent of the issue
I’ve mapped virtually 100 incidents of escooter, ebike, and emoped fires from January 2021 to Might 2022. Only a level of readability, in India emopeds are known as scooters, however I’ve tried to categorize these appropriately as a lot as doable. I’ve not included EVs purely for the sake of brevity.
How unhealthy are the fires?
It’s price seeing the ferociousness of among the fires. What’s shocking is how shortly they alight.
Not my video, however handed to me by a former @LondonFire colleague. A home hearth in East London a few weeks in the past brought on by an e-scooter lithium battery. The burning batteries ‘flaring’ causes overpressure which seems to be like mini-backdraughts!!! pic.twitter.com/I8HAckXJDa
— Steve Dudeney (@stevedude68) February 9, 2022
Not all fires are brought on by charging
Battery charging is linked to fires like this:
However it’s not the one trigger. This escooter was simply minding its personal enterprise:
And right here now we have a supply ebike (these have their very own particular challenges which I’ll element within the subsequent article):
Replace: it was a deliverista’s ebike battery that instantly combusted. Biker fantastic. Hearth out. @westsiderag 78 & Amsterdam #uws pic.twitter.com/1I5T77fgzn
— Pleasure Bergmann (@JoyBergmann) January 2, 2022
Recollects in response to fireside threat
Might 2021: Specialised recalled a number of fashions because of the threat of a “thermal runaway occasion.”
July 2021: Normal Motors issued a second recall of its 2017-2019 mannequin Chevrolet Bolt electrical autos for hearth threat. An investigation discovered that among the cells that make up the Bolt’s pack can have two simultaneous manufacturing defects. House owners had been suggested to:
- Charge extra regularly and keep away from depleting their battery under roughly 70 miles (113 kilometers).
- Park outdoors instantly after charging.
- Don’t depart your car charging indoors in a single day.
July 2021: Specialised Bicycle Elements recalled about 2,500 first-generation Turbo Levo and Kenevo electrical mountain bike battery packs.
August 2021: GM expanded their battery recall to all Bolt fashions produced up to now, including 2019-2022 mannequin yr Chevrolet Bolts to the listing of autos whose battery modules it plans to switch.
September 2021: Specialised Bicycle Elements recalled about 2,500 1st-generation battery packs as a result of a fireplace hazard.
February 2021: Hyundai recalled 82,000 electrical automobiles globally to switch their batteries after 15 reports of fires involving the vehicles. According to CNN Enterprise, on a per-vehicle foundation, the typical price is $11,000, costing Hyundai $900 million.
Might 2021: Hyundai recalls more than 390,000 vehicles within the U.S. and Canada for 2 issues that may trigger engine fires. In a single recall, house owners are being instructed to park their autos open air till repairs are made.
February 2022: Renault issued a recall for the Renault Zoe battery pack with the information that the battery pack “could cease working correctly through the charging cycle or rolling car, inflicting an inside brief circuit.”
April 2022: The Volkswagen Group recalled round 118,000 plug-in hybrid autos worldwide. This was because of the threat of fireplace or doable electrical shock within the occasion of a faulty battery fuse.
As summer season arrives, it’s an actual check for survival of #EV in India. #EVonFire #BatteryMalfunction pic.twitter.com/Xxv9qS4KSu
— Saharsh Damani, MBA, CFA, MS (Finance) (@saharshd) March 26, 2022
April 2022: Okinawa Autotech recalled 3,215 Reward Professional electrical scooters (mopeds).
It began out as random & sporadic however now circumstances of #ElectricVehicles on hearth are surfacing with rising frequency. Simply as I had feared.
Final Saturday, 20 #electricscooters from #JitendraEV had been gutted close to Nashik in a trailer.
It’ll worsen earlier than it will get higher.#EV pic.twitter.com/2G5ZFXqBfn— Sumant Banerji (@sumantbanerji) April 11, 2022
April 2022: PureEV recalled 2,000 Etrance+ and EPluto 7G scooters (mopeds).
April 2022: Ola Electrical recalled 1,441 Ola S1 Professional electrical scooters (mopeds).
April 2022: The general public transport operator in Paris suspended 149 Bluebus electrical buses made by Bollore after two of the vehicles caught fire. A recall is likely, in line with firm administration.
Might 2022: Santa Cruz Bicycles issued a recall notice for Heckler 9 electrical bikes bought between January and March 2022. The model obtained 10 studies of batteries falling from the body and two studies of the latch spring inflicting added put on on the battery housing.
So it’s a giant downside, and it feels a bit like firms are enjoying whack-a-mole, placing out fires (actually and figuratively), and issuing recollects in an effort to finish the issue. However why do battery fires occur, and why are they nonetheless occurring? Keep tuned for the following article to seek out out all about it.
