Find out why electric car batteries sometimes catch fire

While electric vehicles are less likely to catch fires than cars with internal combustion engines, it is much worse when they do so much worse, according to a thenextweb report. The reason is their lithium-ion batteries. To better understand why lithium-ion batteries are dangerous, let’s first update how they work.

A lithium-ion battery consists of four main components: a positive electrode (cathode), a negative electrode (anode), an electrolyte, and a separator. The electrodes store the lithium ions, the electrolyte carries them between the electrodes, and the separator keeps the cathode from contacting the anode.

Which part of the battery is flammable?

The flammability of batteries is related to their liquid electrolytes. In general, the electrolytes used today involve dissolving the lithium salt in a liquid consisting primarily of linear and periodic chain carbons primarily, and molecules comprising a carbon atom bonded to three oxygen atoms. These liquids are usually flammable, and can be volatile and unstable when exposed to temperatures High temperature.

What caused the fires?

As Professor Paul Christensen of Newcastle University explained to Air Quality News, “If the battery gets exposed to excessive heat, or there is a break in the battery case, you will get an internal short circuit.”

This short circuit simply causes excess heat, which in turn leads to a chemical reaction. This generates more heat causing the chemical reaction to develop faster, which again leads to more heat – a vicious cycle.

This process is called “thermal escape” and it can lead to a domino effect, meaning that the heat generated by a failed cell can be transferred to the next cell, making it also thermally unstable and this chain reaction has the potential to destroy the entire package within seconds and even cause Explosions occur.

What can cause thermal breakouts?

1 Manufacturing defects or design defects.

2 software issues.

3 Physical damage during an accident.

4 extreme atmosphere conditions.

5 Use of poorly insulated chargers.

Why are electric vehicle fires a unique challenge?

There are four main reasons why electric vehicle fires are required to be dealt with:

1 Because of its density, it requires greater amounts of water to be quenched. According to the Federation of Fire Protection Societies of Europe, firefighters need more than 60,000 liters of water and a flow rate of 1,100 liters per minute to treat an EV fire.

2 Firefighters also need to prevent water from flowing into drains because of the toxins they pick up from burning batteries.

3 During an electric vehicle fire, more than 100 chemicals are produced from the battery, including toxic gases such as carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide, which are fatal to humans.

4 Electric vehicle fires can flare up again minutes, hours, or even days after the initial event.

What can you do to avoid that?

While the burden is mostly on the manufacturers, there are some things you can do to enhance the safety of your electric vehicle, for example you should avoid overcharging, and you should also have your car batteries checked and repaired regularly from the authorized service centers of the car manufacturer.

Also, if your car catches fire, you must evacuate it immediately and not attempt to put out the fire yourself.