Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Lithium battery fire

A company that is involved in the recycling of lithium batteries has caught fire at Collico, about 30km north of us. How strange, a lithium battery caught fire

The factory has been on fire since yesterday and it is expected to take some time to be completely resolved. In the mean time it is an ecological disaster. We first noticed a burning plastic smell last night and apparently it has spread to more than 40 kilometres. The authorities have recommended staying indoors and limiting activity in the open. There is to wonder if a lot of polluted water is going to finish in the lake with eventual damage to the fish population and wildlife.

It is certainly not a disaster on the level of Chernobyl but it does indicate that the use of lithium batteries and the disposal thereof is perhaps not the environmental bed of roses that they would like us to believe.

What a mess - stay safe Peter

Indeed, hopefully the situation is under control quickly and people are safe.

By the way, insurers have established that electric vehicles appear to catch fire far less frequently than conventional internal combustion engine vehicles. 25.1 fires for every 100,000 vehicles sold compared to 1,529 fires for ICE vehicles. Figures from US government research, research in Sweden seems to confitm this.

I'm very sorry to hear that Peter. The Italian lakes & especially Como & Iseo are gems. Stay safe

Sorry to hear that Peter.

Bert the stats are interesting (and i don't mean this in a rude or dismissive manner) but the offset is the danger around the type and length of burn. An ICE car will generally burn for a short time and can be put out with effective tools. The problems with the chemicals in a battery are better illustrated by Peters comments about the smells and waste. I find this a lot more troubling but I am happy they have done a good job of making them safer. I also worry about the results of impacts and our fire services being put further at risk during a response.

Yes there is certainly the danger to life and health of the emergency workers.

The EV fire argument is a lot more complex than the simple stats.

Right from rare element extraction it gets complicated. As EVs age, then fires will become more likely and are much more dangerous to life. A scrapyard full of IC engined cars is realatively safe, and even if a fire broke out, which is unlikely with the 12v disconnected, it's usually easy to control.

But a yard full of EV's damaged or not could create a catastrophic fire. The car bodies are irrelevant...the batteries are the problem, and the "recycling". This has the potential to become huge over time. Unscrupulous scrap dealers set fire to tyres an a recurring basis as an easy disposal....it's not such a jump, when disposing of a scrap EV will cost a fortune, that the same thing might happen.

I was having a discussion with an engineer the other day and he compared it to the nuclear power industry.

"free electric for all" but the creation, safety and retirement of the materials remains a subject not being discussed. I don't see it as that freaky but I do see the parallels.

Daughter did her Master's in Nuclear Waste Management. Essentially it's dig a big hole, Fill it. Apply concrete.

Exactly - no answer.

Dig up tonnes of spoil to get the tiny bit you need. Refine it at great expense. Use it for a bit (at risk) and then work out what you are going to do with it in it's refined and risky form when it exceeds a set capability.

Clearly the battery chemistry will continue to improve given the investment cash floating about in the pool but it remains a similar challenge. At least there is not a U238 equivalent byproduct floating about to terminate us all.

Mind you I do think there is a Tom Clancy adjacent book/film waiting in the wings about using them as mobile disruptive bombs etc. It would take little to cause mayhem. Small incendiary thermite triggers on the battery pack?