Tag Archives: EV fires

Electric Vehicles – the Nitro Glycerine of the Transportation World?

From Watts Up With That?

Essay by Eric Worrall

A few years ago I called 2021 the year the EVs burned. But a quick review of last year’s horror show of EV fire incidents suggests my assessment may have been premature.

EV fires remind industry of associated risk

By Teresa Moss on January 5, 2024
Insurance

Electric vehicles (EVs) appear to have caused multiple fires at manufacturing factories in recent months, sparking a reminder about EV safety.

Most recently, the Detroit Fire Department responded to a three-alarm fire involving lithium-ion batteries at General Motors’ Factory Zero last month, according to Detroit Free Press.

“Our initial investigation indicates a forklift accidentally punctured a container with battery materials, causing the fire,” Tara Stewart Kuhnen, GM spokeswoman, said in an email Wednesday.

The newspaper also reported another fire at the property in October that involved an autonomous electric car. It states the fire department’s report mentions a battery fire.

However, Kuhnen told the newspaper that a non-battery-related component caused the second fire.

Outside Detroit, the Auburn Hills Fire Department responded to a November fire at Chrysler’s Tech Center.

Multiple media reports say Chrysler’s fire involved an EV as well.

…Read more: https://www.repairerdrivennews.com/2024/01/05/ev-fires-remind-industry-of-associated-risk/

There have been a lot of articles about EV fires in 2023;

‘Massive Problem’: Sky News host criticises sudden EV fires

Model 3 catches fire near Goulburn, as discarded MG battery destroys five cars at airport

Incident at Chinese EV battery plant: Fire during test run sparks safety fears

Electric Vehicle Catches Fire in Middle of The Road, Causing Traffic Jam

7 Battery Electric Cars a Day Catch Fire in China: The Most Involved Brands

Four die in Volkswagen EV fire after crash, fueling safety debate

Why electric vehicles are being written off over minor battery damage

…

There are a lot more where they came from.

Defenders of EVs claim gasoline vehicle fires are far more likely, though given a lot of gasoline vehicles on the road are quite old, I’m not sure they are comparing like for like;

Do electric cars pose a greater fire risk than petrol or diesel vehicles?

The first in a series exploring the myths and realities surrounding EVs

Jasper Jolly @jjpjollyMon 20 Nov 2023 17.00 AEDT

When a fire ripped through a car park at Luton airport last month it set off a round of speculation that an electric vehicle was to blame. The theory was quickly doused by the Bedfordshire fire service, which said the blaze appeared to have started in a diesel car.

Yet the rumour refused to be quelled, spreading on social media like, well, wildfire. Even when these stories are patiently debunked, they come back as zombie myths that refuse to die.

Electric vehicles (EVs) will not deliver the environment from damage but international climate forecasters agree they are a crucial part of the transition from fossil fuels. The Guardian has spoken to experts and looked for hard data where possible to address some of the most common criticisms of electric vehicles.

…

“All the data shows that EVs are just much, much less likely to set on fire than their petrol equivalent,” said Colin Walker, the head of transport at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit thinktank. “The many, many fires that you have for petrol or diesel cars just aren’t reported.”

…Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/nov/20/do-electric-cars-pose-a-greater-fire-risk-than-petrol-or-diesel-vehicles

On the other hand, EV and gasoline fires are not equal. The Australian maritime authority in 2023 warned ferries about the danger of EVs.

DCV Safety Alert 02/2023 – Risks Associated with the Carriage of Battery Electric Vehicles

This safety alert aims to raise awareness of the risks involved with the carriage of battery-powered electric vehicles (BEVs) on roll-on, roll-off (RORO) ferries.

Purpose

This safety alert provides guidance to operators of domestic commercial vessels (DCVs) on risks associated with the carriage of battery-powered electric vehicles (BEVs) on roll-on, roll-off (RORO) ferries, and how best to deal with these risks.

Risk assessment

As per Marine Order 504 (Certificates of operation and operation requirements) you must conduct a risk assessment for your vessel to ensure that risks arising from the carriage of BEVs are addressed.

Consideration must be given to the hazards arising from transporting BEVs and a vessel specific procedure developed for the prevention and mitigation of fire incidents involving BEVs.

New risks identified in relation to BEVs

Some risks associated with BEV fires onboard DCVs include:

  • High voltage shocks
  • Direct jet flames
  • Fires develop in intensity quickly and rapidly reach their maximum intensity (typically within 2-3 minutes)
  • Toxic gases
  • Gas explosion (if the released gas accumulates for a while before being ignited)
  • Long lasting re-ignition risk (can ignite or re-ignite weeks, or maybe months after the provoking incident)
  • Once established fires are difficult to stop/extinguish
  • Thermal runaway

…Read more: https://www.amsa.gov.au/vessels-operators/domestic-commercial-vessels/dcv-safety-alert-022023-risks-associated-carriage

EVs seem to pose a particular problem for ships. Ships have been destroyed by uncontrollable EV fires – automatic fire suppression systems which work on gasoline and diesel fires are helpless to extinguish EV fires, as the Felicity Ace discovered in 2022.

The Genius Star XI fire lithium battery fire was somehow brought under control in the last week, the ship is currently anchored near Dutch Harbour, Alaska, though the ship is still subject to a one mile safety exclusion zone.

I once survived a vehicle fire, caused by a gasoline tank leak. The vehicle was a write-off, but the intensity of the fire was nothing like some of the EV fires we’ve seen. I was first alerted to the fire by other drivers, I had time to pull over, and after I pulled over I had a good 90 seconds to get out of the vehicle before the cabin started filling with smoke. It wasn’t obvious the vehicle would be a write-off until the fire had been burning for 5 minutes, and the intensity finally grew to the point it was obvious the vehicle would be destroyed. Even so, I retrieved an old plastic Apple MacBook from the trunk of the vehicle. After drying the laptop for a few months, I managed to get it to boot long enough to rescue files I hadn’t backed up (lesson learned).

To be fair, the laptop may have been protected a little by some bottled water we had in the trunk, but I doubt a few bottles of water would have saved my laptop from an EV fire.

Compare this experience to a small electric vehicle fire. Bear in mind the battery on this electric scooter is minuscule compared to the battery on a full size electric automobile.

You don’t need a collision or impact to damage EV batteries. A hard frost can permanently damage an EV battery, though I have no data on whether frost damage is as dangerous in terms of fire risk as collision damage.

Are EVs more dangerous than gasoline vehicles? 

Despite my personal experience of a gasoline vehicle fire, I believe the answer is yes, given the maritime authority warning, the speed and ferocity of EV fires, the writing off of EVs after even minor collisions, and the apparent inability of normal fire suppression systems to douse EV fires – even if claims that gasoline fires are more common are true.

Ten important reasons EPA’s auto emissions scheme makes no Net Zero sense

From CFACT

By CFACT Ed

Draconian new Biden administration tailpipe emission regulations applied to cars, sports utility vehicles and pickups in the 2027 to 2032 model years “to combat climate change” with the goal of phasing out internal combustion engines in favor of electric vehicles (EVs) are entirely senseless and destructive.

  1. Emphases on EVs, along with so-called “green energy” (wind turbines and solar panels), makes America increasingly dependent on rare earth minerals supplied by China and Republic of Congo.

China controls a stranglehold monopoly of about 80% of the global supply, with Congo a 90% source of vital cobalt.

  1. Meanwhile, the same anti-drilling ideologues who push for dependence upon enormous quantities of foreign rare earth minerals mined by slave labor in China and Congo are restricting U.S. mining and processing of same under far more responsible U.S. social and environmental safeguards.

Mountain Pass in California is the sole U.S. remaining operating rare earth mine that lost two years of production due to a 2016 bankruptcy, continues to send its mined ore to China for processing.

  1. In addition to being unreliable, intermittent, and weather-dependent, wind and solar facilities have short operational lifecycles with all those costly rare earth mineral batteries winding up in environmentally toxic landfills.

Nor do advertisers ever seem to mention that breezy intermittent wind outputs

  1. Enormous added EV burdens will overwhelm and destabilize already overstressed U.S. power grids requiring trillions of dollars of new spending to upgrade this infrastructure, including transmission lines from remote locations and tens of thousands of recharging stations.

Also, in addition to many billions of dollars required to develop a national highway charging network, fast charging to make them more attractive for long trips imposes other costly infrastructure upgrade requirements.

  1. Given increased demands for electricity, all proposed energy cost benefits over petrochemicals are illusory, particularly with a growing number of companion legislative proposals to ban natural gas hookups in new construction.

Although 53% of respondents to a Siena College poll opposed it, New York became the first state to ban fossil-fuel building connections, with Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul favoring legislation to force an all-electric building mandate for new homes ending gas-powered stoves, water heaters, furnaces and clothes dryers.

Some U.S. municipalities, including many Democratic-led cities in California, have all-electric building mandates, while lawmakers in some Republican-led states have passed laws blocking cities from imposing such requirements.

  1. Increased electricity costs will disproportionately burden low-income metropolitan populations that don’t own private autos … most current EV owners are affluent urbanites and suburbanites who purchase them as second cars.

In California, the state with more EVs than any other, highest concentrations — between 10.9% and 14.2% of all vehicles — are in ZIP codes where residents are at least 75% white and Asian, whereas ZIP codes with the largest percentages of Latino and Black residents have extremely low proportions of EVs.

Atherton — one of the nation’s richest towns with an average home value of almost $7.5 million and average household income exceeding half a million dollars — has California’s highest percentage of EVs, about 14%.

  1. EV performance makes them most suitable for short trips and commutes in urban applications in temperate climates … cold weather dramatically limits driving range and battery life.

According to Consumer Reports, frigid temperatures can reduce an unplugged EV’s range by about 20%, running cabin heaters and defrosters further saps batteries, and recharging takes longer than in warm weather.

  1. EVs are heavily subsidized in multiple ways: through direct federal and state tax benefits to purchasers; through government loan incentives to manufacturers; and through added production costs passed on to gasoline vehicle purchasers.Ford, Toyota, Volkswagen, Honda, Nissan, and Subaru have meanwhile all had to adjust sales prices upward due to the scarcity of semiconductors, a supply condition that will only become more precarious as government- mandated EV numbers multiply.
  2. EPA and other government regulatory pressures to influence rational taxpayer and consumer choices in sources of energy they use and the vehicles they purchase directly violate foundational free market principles and forces that underpin America’s social and economic greatness.

As noted by Wall Street Journal editors, “While the rules don’t dictate the specific cars or models that must be made, the [Biden] administration is remaking a major industry in a way that is “Chinese-style central planning as auto makers answer first to their political overlords rather than consumers and investors.”

  1. No benefits whatsoever will result from this unwarranted climate-alarm based destruction of U.S. fossil-fueled energy independence, prosperity and national security.

Anyone bothering to check facts will realize that theoretical climate models have confirmed to have been running far too hot, that recent decadal extreme U.S. weather conditions have not become either more frequent nor severe, and that global sea level rises have not accelerated over the past century.

In summary, all of this insanity is premised upon addressing a non-existent climate crisis applying enormously costly and destructive measures with no measurable benefits which simultaneously empower the sort of government tyranny we claim to deplore in adversarial countries that now exploit our consequential self-inflicted weaknesses.

This article originally appeared at NewsMax

Author

  • CFACT Ed
  • CFACT — We’re freedom people.

Ford F-150 Lightning Spectacular EV Fire

From Watts Up With That?

Essay by Eric Worrall

Ford F-150 Lightning EV Fire. Source Dearborn Police Department via CNBC

h/t ResourceGuy; Another EV has joined the ranks of vehicles you probably shouldn’t park close to anything you care about.

Ford F-150 Lightning fire footage highlights a growing EV risk

PUBLISHED THU, APR 20 20238:00 AM EDTUPDATED THU, APR 20 2023AT 1:29 EDT
Michael Wayland@MIKEWAYLAND

  • New video footage of a fire that started in a Ford F-150 Lightning earlier this year highlights an emerging concern regarding the adoption of electric vehicles.
  • The previously unreleased footage, obtained by CNBC, shows smoke billowing from three tightly packed electric pickups. Moments later, flames shoot several feet above the vehicles, which were unoccupied.
  • Fires involving EV batteries can burn hotter and longer and require new techniques to extinguish, posing a growing challenge to first responders.

DEARBORN, Mich. — New video footage of a fire involving a Ford F-150 Lightning this year highlights a growing concern around electric vehicles: volatile fires from the batteries that power them.

The previously unreleased footage, which CNBC obtained through Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act from the Dearborn Police Department, shows smoke billowing from three tightly packed electric pickups in a Ford Motor holding lot in Dearborn, Michigan.

Moments later, flames shoot several feet above the vehicles, which were unoccupied. It wasn’t clear based on public documents and police video how long the fires burned. Experts say EV fires can take hours, rather than minutes, to extinguish.

EV fires have become a growing concern as automakers push to increase sales of electric vehicles and meet tightening emissions standards.

…Read more (includes a video): https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/20/f-150-lightning-fire-footage-growing-ev-risk.html

An electric Ford F-150 Lightning caught fire on Feb. 4, 2023 due to a battery issue traced back to one of the automaker’s suppliers. The blaze spread to two other electric pickups in a holding lot of Ford’s in Dearborn, Michigan.

EV fires are extraordinarily difficult to extinguish, and emit toxic fumes which can cause acute and long term debilitating injuries in anyone unlucky enough to breathe them. They also burn hot enough to melt steel and concrete, and need minimal or in some cases no oxygen to continue burning – more like a thermite fire than an ordinary flame.

Lets hope Ford figure out what went wrong, before someone gets killed.