Recently on 3rd Oct, 2022 in Maharashtra’s Palghar, India a 7 year old boy died in fire accident due to battery explosion in electric scooter. A similar incident in Secunderabad where fire at electric scooter killed 8 people. Such cases are common in these vehicles. However many efforts are made by the manufacturer companies to upgrade the batteries.
While using a electric vehicle, there often arises question such as; Are electric vehicles safe? Are there batteries safe from fire? What is a chance of exploding if used constantly for long time? Because of these questions one should know about the risk of using an electric vehicle. One should know whether these vehicles are safe or not.
Manufacturers go through various procedures to ensure the safety of the vehicle. Various tests and experiments are done before the vehicles are bring in market for sale. The features and the functions of the vehicle are considered safe.
But the problem is with the power supply. The power source is highly prone to hazard and may leads to accident. Even small failure in circuit may cause fire. Thus, manufacturer highly focuses on improving the power source of the vehicle.
The power source of electric vehicles are electric batteries fitted within it. Electric vehicles contain Lithium-ion battery.
The Lithium-ion battery used in electric vehicles is combustible and can catch fire easily. Even a small spark may lead to fire. The short circuit inside the power cells can damage the entire battery. The battery can explode if not engineered and manufactured properly or if damaged materials are used.
Different software are designed to operate the battery. The bug in the software also result in the battery failure. Thus, the manufacturer should provide proper attention while manufacturing these batteries.
Liquid electrolytes in Li-ion battery
The liquid organic electrolyte used in Lithium-ion battery is the sole reason for fire accidents. These electrolytes are combustible and volatile. At higher temperature there becomes greater probability of getting fire.
The battery consists of four major parts; cathode, anode, separator and electrolyte. The major electrolyte used in Li- ion is a lithium salt LiPF6(Lithium hexafluorophosphate). Along with the electrolyte specific additives are also used in order to maintain desired character of the battery.
