FIRE, RESCUE & NEW CHALLENGES SEMINAR NOVEMBER 9-10 2018

Battery technology – past, present and

future

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FIRE, RESCUE & NEW CHALLENGES SEMINAR NOVEMBER 9-10 2018

The Past

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What are batteries?

• What is a battery and cell?

• A cell is a single unit that converts chemical energy into electrical
energy.
• A battery is a combination of cells

• What is a primary and secondary battery?

• A primary cell or battery is using a chemistry that can not be
“recharged” – single use/disposable
• A secondary cell or battery is using chemistry that can be
“recharged”

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Daniell cell (1836)

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What types are there and where are they used?

• Lead-acid
• Nickel-cadmium (NiCd)
• Nickel metal hydride (NiMH)
• Lithium metal
• Lithium ion
• Lithium air
• Lithium sulfur

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Lead-acid

• Lead electrodes (PbO2 & Pb)

• Sulfuric acid electrolyte (approx. 30% soln)
• Rechargeable
• Low energy density
• High surge current
• Low cost

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Lithium

• Soft, malleable metal

• Pyrophoric (ignites in air)
• Normally stored under oil to protect it
• Metal will burn
• Flame temp ~1000 °C
• Reacts violently with water

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Lithium metal

• Wide range of chemistries

• Most common is Li/MnO2
• Lithium metal electrode
• Flammable electrolyte

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Lithium ion

• Most common systems:

• LiMnO2 / Graphite
• LiCoO2 / Graphite
• No metallic lithium!
• Flammable electrolyte

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FIRE, RESCUE & NEW CHALLENGES SEMINAR NOVEMBER 9-10 2018

The Present

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Rollout of Electric Vehicles

© OECD/IEA 2018 Electric Vehicles: Tracking Clean Energy Progress https://www.iea.org/tcep/transport/evs/.

Licence: www.iea.org/t&c
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Top Electric Vehicle countries

© OECD/IEA 2018 Electric Vehicles: Tracking Clean Energy Progress https://www.iea.org/tcep/transport/evs/.

Licence: www.iea.org/t&c
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Lithium Battery safety features

• Shutdown seperator
• Cell vent or tear away tab
• Current interrupt device (CID)
• Positive temperature coefficient (PTC)
• Current limiting fuses
• Diodes
• Battery management system (BMS)

• Failure rate estimated at 1 in 10 million for lithium ion battery cells

• Typical EV has 80 – 100 cells (BMW i3) but others may contain 7,000 cells (Tesla S).

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Thermal runaway

Overcharge Overheat
Cell chemistry
Onset (SOC%) Onset (°C) Runaway (°C) Peak (°C/min)
Lithium iron phosphate 100 220 240 21
Lithium manganese oxide 110 210 240 100+
Lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide 125 140 195 260
Lithium cobalt oxide 150 165 190 440
Lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide 170 160 230 100+

Doughty, Dan; Roth, E. Peter.

"A General Discussion of Li Ion Battery Safety" (PDF).
The Electrochemical Society Interface (Summer 2012).

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What is given off?

Study/Vehicle Hydrogen Fluoride (g) Hydrogen Cyanide (g) Hydrogen Chloride (g) Sulfur Dioxide (g)

Lönnermark/Blomqvist No HF detected 170 1400 540

Leqocq et al. Diesel1 621 167 1990

Leqocq et al. EV1 1540 113 2060

Leqocq et al. Diesel2 813 178 2140

Leqocq et al. EV2 1470 148 1930

http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:962743/FULLTEXT01.pdf

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How do we recognise different vehicles?

Sourced from Hyundai Ioniq emergency response guides available at NFPA:

https://www.nfpa.org/-/media/Files/Training/AFV/Emergency-Response-Guides/
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How do we recognise different vehicles?

Sourced from Tesla, VW and BMW emergency response guides:

https://www.nfpa.org/-/media/Files/Training/AFV/Emergency-Response-Guides/
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UK National Operational Guidance (NOG)

• Sources that may assist with identifying an AFV include:

• The driver or passengers

• Information gathered by the fire control room
• Vehicle markings, such as the use of the term 'hybrid'
• Bright orange cabling
• Information stored on systems such as mobile data terminals (MDT)
• Vehicle documents or handbooks

https://www.ukfrs.com/guidance/search/alternative-fuel-vehicles?bundle=control_measure&id=13219

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 Electric Vehicles

Sourced from Tesla S 2016+ emergency response guides:

https://www.tesla.com/firstresponders
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 Electric Vehicles

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Examples of EV incidents

• October 2013 – EV caught fire after hitting metal

debris in the USA.
• March 2017 – EV caught light at charging station in
China.
• October 2017 – EV caught fire in Austria after
hitting concrete barrier.
• December 2017 – EV caught fire in Germany and
was ultimately immersed in water.
• March 2018 – EV caught fire whilst charging in
Thailand.
• May 2018 – EV drove off road in USA hitting
concrete wall.

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 Electric Vehicles
EV operational advice
Electrical hazard – isolate

Batteries inaccessible

Safe to use water

Battery fires difficult to extinguish & can reignite

Contaminated run-off

Consider a controlled burn

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FIRE, RESCUE & NEW CHALLENGES SEMINAR NOVEMBER 9-10 2018

Case Studies

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Incidents with lithium batteries

• Hover boards
• Mobile phones
• Cargo flights
• Marine

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787 APU Fire

• Auxiliary power unit (APU)

• Two incidents within days in 2013.
• NTSB accident investigation:
https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/Accide
ntReports/Reports/AIR1401.pdf
• First incident occurred at Boston airport.

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787 APU Fire

• 10:00 - 787 lands at Boston airport

• 10:06 – engines shutdown and deplaning
complete by 10:20
• 10:21 – report of electrical burning smell and
smoke in aft cabin
• 10:37 – ARFF responders attend and
firefighting operations started
• 11:05 – ARFF decide to remove APU battery
• 11:57 – APU battery removed from aircraft
• 12:19 – ARFF report incident “controlled”

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787 APU Fire

• Single APU cell short circuited causing a

thermal runaway.
• Manufacturing defects probable cause.
• Battery manufacturer tasked with improving
QC.
• Thermal management of large format
batteries.
• Guidance for safety assessments for
manufacturers.

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Essex FRS incident

• Lorry carrying 26 tonnes of batteries in 40ft

container.
• Crashes off bridge onto A12 at rush hour.
• Batteries caught fire.
• Unsafe to commit crews into the container.
• Recovery operations undertaken after midnight.
• Next morning batteries reigniting.
• 27 hours to remove vehicle to safe site.

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FIRE, RESCUE & NEW CHALLENGES SEMINAR NOVEMBER 9-10 2018

The Future

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 Large Scale

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 Large Scale

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 Large Scale

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 Large Scale

First Wind Hawaii

Grid storage facility - 12,000
lead acid batteries

3 separate fires:
1. Burnt out.
2. Burnt out.
3. Destroyed the battery
facility.

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© OECD/IEA 2018 Electric Vehicles: Tracking Clean Energy Progress https://www.iea.org/tcep/transport/evs/. Licence:
www.iea.org/t&c
Figure sources: Meeus (2018); Nationale Plattform Elektromobiliat (2016); NEDO (2018); Howell (2016); Pillot (2017)
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Summary

• Large number of cells will be in circulation in coming decades.

• Battery technology is evolving although lithium expected to be used into 2030s.
• Lithium metal batteries may become mainstream due to advantages.
• Manufacturing quality control important to keep failure rate low.
• Increased spread of energy storage and electric vehicles.
• Second use applications after EV being evaluated.
• Waste and recycling could pose future challenges to emergency services.

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 Many thanks
Erg bendenkt
Nigel Blumire Merci beaucoup
Consultant
Dank uwel
Danke sehr
Muchas gracias
Nigel.blumire@ricardo.com
+44(0)1235 753 203

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