- Researchers are racing to develop battery chemistries that can prevent electric vehicle fires.
- Battery scientists in Daegu, South Korea developed a chemistry where the pack might be able to extinguish itself in case of a fire.
- The lithium metal battery uses a solid polymer electrolyte with a fire-resistant layer.
After a string of electric vehicle fire incidents in South Korea last year that caused nationwide panic and skepticism regarding EVs, battery safety research appears underway in full swing in the country.
EV fires are statistically rarer than gas car fires, but they grab more headlines given how new the technology really is. In the rare instances when EV fires do occur, the batteries burn gradually, become more intense and are painful to extinguish due to thermal runaway, a phenomenon causing lithium-ion cells to burn uncontrollably for hours.
But battery scientists are inching closer to developing chemistries that can prevent EV fires altogether. A study published in academic journal Small explains how the potentially fireproof battery works.
A research team at the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology has developed a lithium metal battery that has a longer lifespan compared to traditional lithium-ion batteries and may also extinguish fires by itself thanks to a specially developed electrolyte—the material that allows the free flow of electrons between the battery’s positive and negative terminals.
The scientists developed a “triple layer solid polymer electrolyte” that could prevent fires and facilitate rapid movement of charge-carrying ions within the cells, which translates to faster energy transfer rates. After 1,000 charging and discharging cycles, the lithium metal battery retained nearly 88% of its original capacity.
Photo by: State Of Charge
“This research is anticipated to make a significant contribution to the commercialization of lithium metal batteries using [solid polymer] electrolytes, while providing enhanced stability and efficiency [to] energy storage devices,” principal researcher of the study Dr. Kim Jae-hyun said in a press release.
Applications of such a battery can be wide-ranging, as per the study. If at all the technology gets commercialized, it can be used in everything from smartphones to wearables and EVs to large-scale energy storage systems.
Korean battery giant LG Energy Solution has also developed EV batteries that can suppress thermal runaway. It revealed last year a temperature sensitive “safety reinforced layer” in battery packs that acts as a “fuse” to prevent overheating in the first place.
We explain in our EV Myths Discharged series how gas cars are several times more likely to engulf in flames compared to EVs. Yet, the focus on EV fire safety continues to increase, which is only a good thing.
Of course, these fire prevention mechanisms are in the early stages of research and development. And there may not be a silver bullet to entirely prevent EV fires just yet. But with the U.S. and global EV markets growing to new heights every year, expect this tech—or something similar—to be commercially deployed sooner than later.
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