Electric vehicle batteries ignite at an alarming rate. The best estimate of these incidents is “too often,” and of the reporting, “not enough.” Lithium vehicle batteries catch fire incidents that go under-reported. As do the enhanced environmental hazard that burning Lithium Batteries presents.
The electrolyte in a lithium-ion battery is flammable and generally contains lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6) or other Li-salts containing fluorine. In the event of overheating the electrolyte will evaporate and eventually be vented out from the battery cells. The gases may or may not be ignited immediately. In case the emitted gas is not immediately ignited the risk for a gas explosion at a later stage may be imminent.
Li-ion batteries release a various number of toxic substances14–16 as well as e.g. CO (an asphyxiant gas) and CO2 (induces anoxia) during heating and fire. At elevated temperature the fluorine content of the electrolyte and, to some extent, other parts of the battery such as the polyvinylidene fluoride (PVdF) binder in the electrodes, may form gases such as hydrogen fluoride HF, phosphorus pentafluoride (PF5) and phosphoryl fluoride (POF3).
Compounds containing fluorine can also be present as e.g. flame retardants in electrolyte and/or separator17, in additives and in the electrode materials, e.g. fluorophosphates18,19, adding additional sources of fluorine.
It’s one of the best kept dirty secrets of a dirty device that is anything but green.
The manufacturing process has a massive carbon footprint. Recalls for defects are common, always resulting from vehicle fires sparked by lithium batteries in Electric vehicles.
Just this week, General Motors announced a second recall of Chevrolet Bolt EVs and EUVs manufactured from 2019 to 2022 model years in order to fix a defect in two of the lithium-ion battery modules that have led to fires. This follows on the heels of a previous recall of 69,000 older vehicles that will replace all five of the battery modules. 0:48 / 48:375 seconds…
The GM announcement is just the latest in a string of recalls by EV manufacturers to attempt to fix defects that can lead to catastrophic fires related to lithium-ion batteries. Last year, Ford was forced to recall 20,000 hybrids and soon thereafter, BMW recalled 26,700 vehicles due to battery defects that could lead to fires.
Public transportation systems have embraced EV busses as a green alternative to diesel, but that too is a lie. Those batteries have a massive carbon footprint a shorter life cycle, and their end-of-life disposal is equally dirty (as in, not green). That is if they make it that far.
Battery fires are not limited to passenger cars. A fire at a bus depot housing electric vehicles in Hanover, Germany, caused millions of euros in damage. Five e-buses and four other vehicles were destroyed, along with the building and charging station. In the Chinese city of Baise, four electric buseswent up in flames after one had ignited.
Nashua, New Hampshire, has a small but growing fleet of these things, so Gate City residents should prepare themselves for the news. One day, the entire bus terminal may burn to the ground taking all the vehicles with it. The fire department left with little to do but watch and work to keep the fire contained to that facility.
Fire crews have extinguished a blaze at Victoria’s new Tesla Big Battery, the largest lithium-ion battery in the country, after taking more than three days to bring it under control.
One of the Tesla megapack batteries at the site in Moorabool, near Geelong, caught fire during testing shortly after 10 am on Friday.
The Victorian Big Battery, with a capacity of 300 megawatts and 450 megawatt-hours, is three times bigger than the initial size of billionaire Elon Musk’s Tesla big battery built in South Australia in 2017.
Hopefully, this never happens, but the insurance will only cover so much damage if it does. Taxpayers will be on the hook for replacements costs, and your #woke “leaders” (assuming you’ve yet to replace them) will bill you for those charges.
And yes, homes have burned to the ground after EV’s have ignited in people’s garages. And yes, they are hoping to mandate more of these things and not just in California. Wokeachusetts is pushing for a transition to all-electric vehicles (and therefore vehicle fires) in the not-distant enough future.
And the lefties want a lot of them or a lot more of them everywhere.
