Why Electric Vehicles Catch Fire And Why It’s So Difficult To Stop

Lithium-ion batteries are ubiquitous in modern technology — you’ll find them in everything from smartphones to wireless shavers, remote-control cars, drones, and even household solar-power storage systems. In light of that, it’s safe to say that the technology itself is safe … as long as nothing goes wrong. While they’re generally safe, lithium-ion batteries can catch fire if they sustain damage — most often leading to a short circuit inside the battery — or otherwise enter a thermal runaway from manufacturing defects or degradation. Thermal runaway is the primary reason why lithium-ion battery fires are so dangerous; it can be caused by an internal or external short circuit, overcharging, or charging the battery at excessive amperage. 

During thermal runaway, there is a chain reaction that causes the temperature of the battery to rapidly increase, resulting in near-instant degradation of the cells inside the battery and the gaseous expansion of the cells involved as the energy stored in them is expended almost instantly in the form of heat. When you consider how energy-dense lithium-ion batteries can be, it’s not surprising that temperatures can reach up to 3,632 degrees Fahrenheit when thermal runaway occurs (via Envista Forensics). The ignition is only the start of your problems with a lithium-ion battery fire, though.