Or, reality. Wait till things really start getting hot globally and the battery manufacturing is sold to the lowest bidder for more ceo profit. I personally have no issues with Evs, but knowing how batteries fail..Esh..it's a very spicy pillow
All but the highest end EVs will likely switch to a LiFePO4 battery chemistry, this chemistry is much more stable under destructive conditions and are less prone to combustion and thermal runaway.
I have issues with EVs. People are acting like this is the cure for climate change when they're almost as bad for the environment as conventional cars when you include the environmental cost of manufacturing and the energy mix of the grid that powers them.
Why can't we be sensible and invest in trains, trams, subways and bicycle infrastructure rather than engaging in techno-fetishism?
This is already happening in Florida after the hurricane flooded some Teslas. Apparently lithium ion batteries don't like salt water.
An aside: I support EVs and a renewable future. It's important that we acknowledge and address these issues in this early stage of adoption. Also, call your senator and have them support the Motorcycle Parity Act so I can afford a Livewire S2.
Unlike gas cars, which every single fire department in the US has been dealing with for over 100 years, electric cars need different equipment to put them out. Not all fire departments have the stuff on hand for battery fires. In 20 years this will probably change.
Please try to ignore the facts and pretend like it's not significantly harder to contain a fucking gas fire and significantly less dangerous. Disingenuous bullshit.
Yeah but air doesn't cause gasoline to just combust. You kinda need some sort of ignition to ignite the fuel. Batteries just need to be Chinese made, or some air.
Also good luck putting it out. You just have to watch it burn.
Fuel is very pressurized coming out of the fuel tank pump, and 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 pressurized by the time it gets to the injector rail. When it comes out it will be atomized, and to a stoichiometric mist EVERYTHING is an ignition source.
No. In fact they are typically quite safe but there are some edge cases that pop up given the size and power of the batteries. E.g. Recently it was reported in Florida that some EVs had similar battery issues as a result of hurricanes flooding them with salt water. Thats not a normal occurrence. It makes sense that salt water and batteries aren’t totally simpatico, but more importantly for this to happen you had to leave your car by the ocean in a hurricane, not a spontaneous thing.
Conversely I had a friend driving a brand new ford fiesta and one of the front wheels just came off at speed on the highway…
I can see flooded EVs susceptible to electric shorting. But I haven’t read or seen any reports of combustion simply due to exposure from salt water. Maybe those vehicles were pierced by some object during hurricane?
Do you have a source?
Also modern ICE vehicles not immune to electrical shortages due to heavy water exposure. Most if not all have ECUs and other electronic equipment that is sensitive to water exposure.
EVs don’t combust spontaneously. If the battery of an EV is compromised or battery pack is pierced and lithium is exposed to air. Then that violent reaction (lithium oxidizing the air) will produce the fire you see.
I think this is from a training exercise though. Suspiciously empty lot. Some branding on vehicle might indicate test site. The idea here is that by covering the vehicle with the fire resistant blanket, the fire will consume all of the oxygen and eventually put it self out.
No, they do not spontaneously combust. They just burn differently. They electrolytically produce very large quantities of flammable vapors and oxidizers. Because they are not entirely reliant on atmospheric oxygen, it is extraordinarily difficult to extinguish them.
It takes 10+ times as much water to extinguish a battery fire as an equivalent petro-fuel fire.