Dr Matthew Priestley is an associate lecturer at Energy Systems Research Group at University of New South Wales, in Australia. He became concerned after he learned there were over 450 lithium-ion battery-related fires in his country in the previous 18 months. And so he put pen to paper, so to speak on the Uni’s website, and described seven ways to make lithium-ion batteries safer.
Dr Matt’s First Two Ways to Make Lithium Batteries Safer
We’ll need more than one post to cover all seven ways to make lithium batteries safer. We begin with understanding the current situation, and where we are most likely to encounter these batteries.
STEP ONE Improve User Knowledge and Safety Regulation
Fire and Rescue New South Wales are at the sharp edge of the situation. They believe the best way to address the risk is to understand how it starts. Matt Priestley is concerned about “the lack of regulation regarding lithium-ion batteries, and the safety aspect associated with that”.
New South Wales fire officials are similarly concerned about this. The problem goes deeper than user ignorance, they say. Increasing incidence of fires is due to increasing roll-out of the technology. Yet, this aspect is still not adequately incorporated in building codes, standards, and legislation in relation to safety.
STEP TWO Know Where to Expect Lithium-Ion Batteries
Lithium-ion batteries have become common in almost every home. And so too has the fire risk, although the rate is statistically very, very low. Many citizens don’t expect to find them in mobile phones, laptops and smart wearables. These and e-bikes and e-scooters seldom label they are lithium-ion battery powered either.
And so there is little on them to warn users these products contain a chemistry vulnerable to thermal runaway. They may mistakenly ascribe an early warning of overheating to using the product excessively, or recharging it. Our time is up. We move on to more ways to make lithium batteries safer in our next post.
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