All Posts

Propagation is the real failure mode In lithium-ion battery incidents, the initial failure is rarely the most dangerous part. The real risk is propagation ; the process by which a single failing cell triggers failure in neighboring cells, escalating into a system-level event. Propagation occurs only after a cell enters thermal runaway , which marks the beginning of internal failure and heat generation. This escalation mechanism is a key reason why EV fires behave differently

Thermal runaway is not a fire A common mistake is to treat thermal runaway as the moment a battery “catches fire.” That’s incorrect. Thermal runaway is a self-heating chemical failure inside the battery. Fire is often a consequence — not the cause. Understanding this distinction is critical to understanding why lithium-ion battery incidents escalate rapidly and why conventional fire logic often fails. What is thermal runaway? Thermal runaway occurs when a lithium-ion battery

Not all fires behave the same A common assumption in fire safety is that a fire is a fire, and that similar suppression strategies will work regardless of the fuel source. That assumption breaks down when lithium-ion batteries are involved. When comparing EV fire vs gasoline fire  behavior, the difference is not just intensity; it’s the underlying failure mechanism. These differences matter when designing safety strategies for vehicles, charging infrastructure, parking struc

Why most people misunderstand battery fires When people think about fires, they think about oxygen, flames, and heat . That logic works for conventional fires, but it breaks down completely with lithium-ion batteries. In battery fires, the visible flame is already late-stage . The real danger begins earlier, during a phase many safety strategies overlook: Battery OFF-GAS generation. What is battery OFF-GAS? The infographic illustrates the hidden dangers of lithium-ion battery

Battery fire risk is a sequence, not a moment Lithium ion battery fires do not begin with flames. They develop through a sequence of physical and chemical events that include: internal failure heat accumulation gas generation ignition propagation across cells and modules Effective mitigation requires addressing multiple stages of failure , not only the final visible outcome. This battery fire safety solution focuses on intervening earlier in the failure sequence, before ignit

Why battery fire testing relies on measured data Battery fire safety is evaluated through instrumented testing , not visual suppression alone. In lithium ion systems, meaningful testing focuses on how failure develops across time, temperature, gas release, and adjacent cells. Flames are documented, but they are not the primary indicator of risk or mitigation effectiveness. For this reason, modern battery fire testing emphasizes quantified behavior under controlled failure con

The Numbers: EV Charging Fire Incidents Key statistics on electric vehicle fires reveal that 18-30% occur during charging, 13% reignite even 68 days later, and 25% take place in underground parking facilities. Recent data reveals important trends about EV charging station fires: 18-30% of EV fires occur while connected to charging, with an additional 2% within one hour of disconnection (EVFireSafe Database, 2024). Underground parking facilities account for 25% of all EV fir