Emergency responders and a wide range of other industries globally are now struggling to keep up with the tactics and impact of Lithium Ion battery (LIB) fires and electric vehicle incidents especially when involved in serious accidents and fires due to the time it takes to extinguish a EV fire and remove it safely from the roadway.

Logistic chains, vehicle manufacturers, recycling centres, recovery teams, Insurance companies and many others are looking how to mitigate and prevent serious fires causing billions in loses within their sectors caused by LIB’s.

When individual cells in a lithium-ion battery are damaged in the event of a traffic accident or if there is a fire in the car this can result in the development of heat in the cell, which then spreads from cell to cell – also known as thermal runaway. A chemical fire in a lithium-ion battery can develop very quickly producing jet like flames and harmful toxic gases. This initial ignition if not detected and suppressed can quickly spread to neighbouring materials and products leading to total loss.

In the global logistics chain severe losses have already been identified due to the carriage of LIB’s and EV’s. In the waste recycling industry there have already been total loses of recycling plants in numerous countries due to poor storage and processes involving LIB’s.

A fire in a lithium-ion battery (LIB) is a chemical fire and does not require external oxygen supplies. In fact, the thermal runaway will continue even if the batteries are fully submerged in water. Vehicle manufacturers have already stated that their LIB battery packs should NOT be submerged as this can begin or accelerate the thermal runaway process (as recently seen in the floodings in America during Hurricane Ian).

In addition, submersion tactics create difficulties in removal from scene due to massive weight issues and also create tens of thousands of litres of contaminated water requiring disposal.

Unlike other types of units the EVCU and FSCU do not rely on submersion tactics and utilises water to ‘Steam tactics’ to suppress fire development as water at 100 degrees creates an expansion ratio of 1700:1 and at 500 degrees this is closer to 4000:1. In fact, the hotter the fire burns the more steam is created. This is a tried and tested method of fire control and extinguishment used by fire services globally for over 100 years.

We know that lithium will even burn under water so the EVCU and FSCU’s work differently to detect ignition and target the flames coming from the initial ignition point and prevent fire spreading to surrounding materials and products. This in turn will saves billions of pounds/dollars in lost goods and prevent loss of lives.