We were lucky enough to be able to hear Dr. Ulises Rojas-Alva speak at a seminar hosted by FSE, Ugent today about the fire safety of batteries and battery systems. Dr. Ulises started the lecture by giving us a brief about his background and some of the amazing work being done by the team of the Department for Fire-Safe Sustainable Built Environment. Besides that, he took us to look into the batteries’ fire safety from different angles and in detail.
Let us investigate it together!
He briefed us about the significance of the batteries and how essential they are to our day-to-day lives. In fact, I believe that the invention of rechargeable batteries and the subsequent widespread adoption of this technology had, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most significant impacts on societies at any point in human history. Particularly, lithium-ion batteries made it feasible for portable technology to be developed, such as cell phones, laptops, and electric cars.
It’s possible for a Li-ion battery to catch fire for a variety of reasons, including being overcharged, experiencing thermal runaway, or being physically damaged. In addition, lithium-ion batteries can pose a threat to public safety if they are not designed and built correctly. This is due to the fact that lithium-ion cells contain flammable electrolytes, which, if the cells are damaged or not charged correctly, can result in explosions and fires. For example, fire departments in the UK recorded a total of 239 fires that were caused by electric vehicles (EVs) between July 2022 and June 2023.
The battery market is expanding rapidly, and I will borrow a phrase from Dr. Ulises: “By time, batteries will be an integral part of our lives.” However, we lack sufficient data and resources to address and solve the fire and explosion hazards posed by batteries; either the test apparatuses are inadequate to measure the relevant data or there is insufficient information on the subject.
That got me thinking: What will we do with such a topic that is new to the entire world? And what about the place I came from, where we still fight for the existing codes and standards to be applied? When will we have enough regulatory standards to deal with it?
Still, a lot to do with the batteries’ fire safety. I hope to be part of it, do you?
IMFSE 
Yes, i believe the world change fast, and if we don’t adapt that changes, we will lose.
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