Guest essay by Eric Worrall
Electric cars are inherently unsafe? This is a question many people may be asking, realizing that 2021 is going to be a hell of a year for battery-burning vehicle recalls.
GM heralded the plant as a model for its electric car future. Then its battery started to explode.
The company had to recall 141,000 Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles, a microcosm of the challenge GM faced as it shifted production to all-electricity.
Via Faiz SiddiquiDecember 30, 2021 at 6:00 a.m. EST
ORION TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Before General Motors recalled its entire fleet of its most popular electric vehicles because of a fire hazard, before her factory closed, assembly line worker Carol McConkey stood in the middle of a packed factory floor and marvel at how the Chevrolet Bolt is made.
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The crisis involving the Chevrolet Bolt is a painful reminder to the auto industry that despite seeing the era of electric vehicles as fundamentally inevitable – a technical failure – significant obstacles to The production of cars, and especially their batteries, continues to threaten that future.
“It’s a terrible thing that has happened,” Tim Grewe, GM’s general manager for electrification strategy and cellular engineering, said in an interview in September.
It’s the kind of disruption that GM can’t stand as it aims to scale up production of electric vehicles to 1 million units a year by 2025. The company wants to have a global fleet of 30 by that year. And it plans to shift production away from gasoline-powered cars entirely in the next decade and a half.
Automakers including Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and Ford have also announced plans to go all or mainly electric – pursuing ambitions similar to GM’s 2035 deadline.
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But first, automakers must show they can produce safe and reliable cars – on a massive scale.
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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/12/30/chevy-bolt-gm/
GM is far from having a battery fire problem. Hyundai recalled thousands of EVs in March 2021.
Do not park your Hyundai Kona EV inside as it may catch fire
Hyundai is recalling more than 80,000 EVs over concerns about battery fires
Via Andrew J. Hawkins@andyjayhawk March 29, 2021, 4:33 p.m. EDT
The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued a recall for the 2019–2020 Hyundai Kona and 2020 Hyundai Ioniq electric vehicles after more than a dozen battery fires were reported. The agency also warned owners not to park their cars near homes or any flammable structures.
The NHTSA said that short-circuiting in Kona’s lithium-ion battery cells increases the risk of fire while parked, charging and driving, adding, “The safest place to park is in the car. outside, away from houses and other structures”.
Last month, Hyundai announced that it would be recalling about 76,000 Kona EVs built between 2018 and 2020 over concerns about battery fires. This is the second recall for Kona but the first of a global nature. The automaker also said it will recall some Ioniq and electric buses manufactured by the company. In total, Hyundai said it will recall 82,000 vehicles, estimated to be worth $900 million.
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Read more: https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/29/22357068/hyundai-kona-ev-recall-battery-fire-nhtsa
Germany withdrew its electric buses from service because they kept on fire. (h/t The area without tricks)
Fire hazard: electric buses withdrawn from service
Updated: 11/4/2021 17:26
As the electric bus caught fire, expensive things were withdrawn from use in many cities.
Hanover – Lower Saxony is truly at the forefront when it comes to electric power in bus transport . However, in June, a big fire broke out in a bus stop in Hanover in the Mittelfeld district, in which the fire consumed nine vehicles belong to transport company Üstra. As a result, the Üstra bus company has shut down its tram fleet for the time being. It’s not just the case in Hanover, it’s increasingly common for the tram to be dropped from the schedule in cities, often due to one thing in common: fire protection.
However, in Hanover, 17 electric buses will gradually be put into normal operation from November 1. Accordingly, there is no evidence that electric buses pose an increased risk in operation, but Previously the transport company spent more than 20 million euros. The use of the fleet is still approved, all vehicles will be re-inspected in the workshop before being put back into operation. Therefore, the operation can be granted.
Electric buses are being discontinued in some cities due to fire risk
However, not all cities and transportation companies come to this point. After an electric bus was accused of causing a massive fire at a bus depot in Stuttgart, the transport company has closed the buses for the time being. 25 vehicles were destroyed in the fire. Other transport companies have also taken action: The Munich Transport Company has also shut down eight electric buses. This measure should be applied until the final cause of the fire is known.
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Further reading (in German): https://www.kreiszeitung.de/lokales/niedersachsen/brandgefaehrlich-staedte-ziehen-elektro-busse-aus-dem-verkehr-91066578.html
Tesla has managed to avoid bad publicity in 2021 over spontaneous electric vehicle fires, but a large-scale battery fire in Australia has attracted global attention.
Fire at giant Tesla battery project near Geelong may have been caused by coolant leak, investigation shows
Via Leanne Wong
Posted on Tuesday, September 28, 2021 at 11:29 a.m. Tuesday, September 28, 2021 at 11:29 a.m., updated on Tuesday, September 28, 2021 at 4:59 p.m.Authorities approved testing to resume at Australia’s biggest Tesla battery project this week, after investigations into the July fire suggested a leak could be the cause. coolant.
Main attractions:
Energy Safe Victoria investigation says fire is “most likely” caused by leak in Megapack cooling system
It is believed to be the cause of a short circuit in the battery, resulting in a fire
Additional safety measures are being taken so that testing can continue at the site
Two Tesla Megapacks were engulfed in flames when one the fire broke out during initial testing at the Victoria Big Battery site in Moorabool, near Geelong, on July 30.
The fire triggered a toxic smoke alert and it took four days for firefighters to bring the area under control.
An investigation conducted by Energy Safe Victoria found the “most likely” cause of the fire was a coolant leak in the Megapack’s cooling system, which caused a short circuit that resulted in the fire of an electronic component. .
The heating then leads to heat loss and the fire spreads to the second battery.
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Matters become perplexing, the organization industry global EV battery fire summit in 2021.
Several companies in the industry have stated that they have solved the problem. Chinese companies are trying to convince the world that they have a solution.
China’s battery makers polish their safety image as they take a large share of the world’s electric car power supply
CATL is now the world’s largest EV battery maker, with about 30% of the global market, ahead of LG Energy’s 25%, SNE Research says Chinese brands are fighting an uphill reputational battle against Korean and Japanese brands, which have an image of being safer
Daniel Ren in Shanghaiand Jodi Xu Klein
Published: 10:00 a.m., October 30, 2021
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The biggest limitation of Li-ion batteries is the use of liquid electrolytes, which are volatile and flammable when operated at high temperatures. External forces such as impact can also cause chemicals to leak and catch fire. Flammable electrolytes are used in all NCM, LFP and NCA batteries, which means they can all catch fire.
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CATL, revealed world’s first sodium-ion battery in July, To be Get ready for a game-changing technological breakthrough in the use of abundant materials to replace its main lithium-ion battery.
CATL, which also counts Tesla as a customer, is now the world’s largest maker of EV batteries, with about 30% of the global market, ahead of LG Energy’s 25%, according to SNE Research.
However, Chinese brands are fighting an uphill reputation battle with Korean and Japanese brands, which have a safer image because they have been in the industry longer.
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Regardless of whether you believe China’s claims or not, the electric vehicle fires are a major reputational risk to the entire industry. Hot fires are much more difficult to extinguish than gasoline fires and give off formidable toxic fumes.
Last year, I asked a firefighter how they put out a tram fire. “We can’t,” he said. We stretch the cord out of the area, pour a thin stream of water over the area to try to bring the temperature down, and wait for it to burn on its own.”
I have a friend who owns an EV, and he loves it. He mainly uses it for short trips and has enough solar panels on his roof that he can mostly keep it on his own electricity. But his electric car is parked outside, away from home, and he rarely uses the fast charger.
In my view, early adopters like my friend will be the exception because of dangerous fires, reducing costs and solving range issues. In my opinion, it will still be an uphill struggle for manufacturers to convince the majority of motorists to switch to electric vehicles.
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