Debunking battery instability/fire and the future... an interview with electrochemist Dr Euan McTurk

[John Downard]

Fully Charged Show (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGoT6e-Mobw) - This item may be of value in clarifying the complex topic of battery chemistry and properties in relation to vehicle propulsion.

Edited December 13, 2023 by John Downard
broken link

[700newtons]

Ah thanks - every time I learn something at these meetings.

[700newtons]

Here is some more…

A series of myth busting arguments from the Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/dec/16/are-electric-cars-too-expensive-to-tempt-motorists-away-from-petrol-and-diesel-vehicles?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

It addresses fires, mining, cost and range.

Simon

[700newtons]

And the latest from the Guardian: Do electric cars really produce fewer carbon emissions than petrol or diesel vehicles?

link here

aside… I'm probably wrong, but shouldn't it be 'less' not 'fewer'?

[p.mole1]

I beg to differ about battery safety, I have been retired from Fire service 3 years but have experience of Lithium battery fires and they are horrendous ( not just in cars )  You cannot extinguish them! A battery pack in in an electric car will continue to be a hazard many days after the fire, if you put water on them it increases the reaction due to the reactive nature of the lithium, it is one of the unstable alkali metals . No one seems to know how to deal with them, Germany had a system where they dumped the car into a large water tank until the reaction ceased, hardly practical.

I agree fires are quite rare but when they occur they are very severe, thermal run aways  still seem to be occurring during charging. Just start looking at fast charging bays for melted tarmac.   

You also have a huge problem in a vehicle crash, they are lethal for emergency services if you need to be cut from the wreckage, The high voltage lines carry high voltage dc current and it is no simple task to try and make a vehicle  safe, let along the motor engaging.   

They are still decades away from being a practical solution, until solid state batteries become available.  

[700newtons]

Hmm.. Interesting. How do they make the vehicle safe after a crash - some kind or Earthing mesh over the battery bay?