https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/oct/7/rising-battery-fires-cloud-electric-vehicles-futur/
By Bonner Russell Cohen
Contributing to the slowing sales of electric vehicles in the United States and Europe are growing concerns about the safety of their lithium-ion batteries, which can spark spectacular fires, quickly engulfing the vehicle in flames and smoke and spewing toxic fumes.
The internet is awash in videos of EVs going up in flames in tightly packed underground parking garages.
Other incidents include a factory fire in South Korea that killed 22 workers and blazes at battery-recycling centers in Scotland that required extensive firefighting efforts, Steve Goreham noted in The Wall Street Journal. And in New York, e-scooter fires resulted in 270 blazes last year, which claimed 18 lives.
Across the pond, a recent freedom of information request from the insurer QBE found that EV battery fires in the U.K. jumped 46% last year, DailySkeptic.com reported.
“Car and bus fires were up 33% and 22% respectively and it is noted that there are now three battery fires per day compared with two in 2022,” DailySkeptic.com said.
“Battery-powered vehicles account for a small share of car fires, but controlling EV fires can be difficult,” a 2023 Clemson University analysis notes. “Typically, an EV fire burns at 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,760 Celsius), while a gasoline-powered vehicle on fire burns at 1,500 F (815 C). It takes about 2,000 gallons of water to extinguish a burning gasoline-powered vehicle, putting out an EV fire can take 10 times more.”
EV batteries can ignite for several reasons, including a crash with another vehicle, overheating or external or internal short-circuiting. In all three cases, the resulting fire can result in the total loss of the vehicle. The Clemson analysis acknowledged that EV battery fires are “a growing public safety concern.”
It’s no wonder that insurance premiums for EVs are higher than those for conventional vehicles. According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, insuring an EV can cost as much as 20% more than insuring a gas-powered car, CNBC reported.
Teslas are among the costliest EVs to insure. A MoneyGeek analysis found that four of the five EVs with the highest insurance premiums were Teslas.
