The lithium-ion battery, while incredibly prevalent, has a crucial flaw: the potential to catch fire. An alarming video recently circulated of individuals aboard a JetBlue flight feverishly dousing a backpack with water, highlighting broader concerns about these batteries. They are now found in almost every portable device, leading to an increase in headlines about lithium-ion battery fires in e-bikes, electric vehicles, and laptops aboard passenger flights over the past decade.
This heightened public attention has sparked a wave of research efforts worldwide, focused on improving the safety and lifespan of lithium-ion batteries. In recent years, battery innovations have soared, with scientists replacing flammable liquid electrolytes with more stable materials such as nonflammable gels, inorganic glass, and solid polymers to create solid-state batteries.
A study featured in the journal Nature proposed a novel safety mechanism to prevent the formation of lithium “dendrites,” which are branch-like structures formed when lithium-ion batteries overheat due to overcharging or damage. These dendrites can short-circuit the battery cell and cause explosive fires.
“With each study, we grow more confident in our ability to address the safety and range concerns in electric vehicles,” said Chunseng Wang, the lead author of the study and a professor at the University of Maryland.
Yuzhang Li, an assistant professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, highlighted the importance of Wang’s development in enhancing lithium-ion battery safety. Li is also working on his own breakthroughs, focusing on creating a next-generation battery using lithium metal that can store ten times more energy than the graphite electrode used in traditional lithium-ion batteries.
Li asserts that lithium-ion batteries are not as dangerous or common as the public perceives them to be when it comes to electric car safety. However, understanding the safety protocols associated with these batteries is essential.
At the nonprofit Fire Protection Research Foundation, researchers studying lithium-ion battery fires have discovered that electric vehicle fires are comparable in intensity to those in gasoline-powered cars. However, electric car fires tend to last longer, require more water to extinguish, and can reignite hours after the flames subside due to residual energy in the battery.
Victoria Hutchison, a senior research project manager at the foundation, explained that electric vehicles pose a unique risk for firefighters, first responders, and drivers. Nevertheless, Hutchison emphasizes the need to learn how to handle such incidents properly rather than fearing them.
Concerns about electric vehicle fires may also contribute to increased insurance prices, according to Martti Simojoki, a loss prevention expert affiliated with the International Union of Marine Insurance. Insuring electric cars as cargo is currently considered one of the least appealing aspects of the insurance industry due to perceived fire risks.
However, a study conducted by the International Union of Marine Insurance found that electric vehicles are not inherently more dangerous or riskier than conventional cars. Simojoki noted that the high-profile cargo fire off the Dutch coast in the summer, initially suspected to be caused by an electric vehicle, was later proven otherwise.
Simojoki believes that there is a hesitancy to embrace risk, and higher risks result in higher prices. Ultimately, it is the end consumer who bears the cost.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com.
