Plug-in electric vehicle fire incidents
Type of vehicle incident / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Numerous plug-in electric vehicle (EV) fire incidents have taken place since the introduction of mass-production plug-in electric vehicles.[1] As a result of these incidents, the United States Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) conducted a study in 2017 to establish whether lithium-ion batteries in plug-electric vehicles pose an exceptional fire hazard. The research looked at whether the high-voltage batteries can cause fires when they are being charged, and when the vehicles are involved in an accident.[1]
Regarding the risk of electrochemical failure, [this] report concludes that the propensity and severity of fires and explosions from the accidental ignition of flammable electrolytic solvents used in Li-ion battery systems are anticipated to be somewhat comparable to or perhaps slightly less than those for gasoline or diesel vehicular fuels. The overall consequences for Li-ion batteries are expected to be less because of the much smaller amounts of flammable solvent released and burning in a catastrophic failure situation.[1]
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The NHTSA in 2021 opened a new Battery Safety Initiative investigation into EV car fires in light of the continuing numerous fire incidents.[2][3]
They were thermal runaway incidents related to the lithium-ion batteries. The brands involved were the Zotye M300 EV, Chevrolet Volt, Fisker Karma, Dodge Ram 1500 Plug-in Hybrid, Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid, Mitsubishi i-MiEV and Outlander P-HEV.
As of February 2014[update], four fires after an impact have been reported associated with the batteries of plug-in electric cars. The first crash related fire was reported in China in May 2012, after a high-speed car crashed into a BYD e6 taxi in Shenzhen.[4] Two incidents occurred with the Tesla Model S in October 2013, one when a Model S caught fire after the electric car hit metal debris on a highway in Kent, Washington,[5] and another involving a loss of control and collision with a tree in Merida, Mexico.[6] A Tesla Model S being driven on a highway near Murfreesboro, Tennessee caught fire in November 2013 after it struck a tow hitch on the roadway, causing damage beneath the vehicle.[7]
A Mitsubishi Outlander fire in May 2019 appeared to be related to immersion in salt water (which is electrically conductive), probably for an hour or two.[citation needed]
General Motors, Nissan and Tesla have published a guide for firefighters, and first responders to properly handle a crashed electric-drive vehicle and safely disable its battery and other high voltage systems.[8][9]
The difference with EV car fires is the use of high voltage lithium-ion batteries which can short and break down and spontaneously combust, and also that lithium-ion fires are difficult to extinguish and produce toxic smoke.[10][11]