HIU-Newsletter
You a scientist yourself? A journalist, a political decision-maker or business representative? In our newsletters we compile the latest battery research news for you. Specially tailored to your personal area of interest.
The research partners of the Helmholtz Institute Ulm sometimes go to great lengths to ensure the safety of future batteries and / or to check it (externally / internally). For this purpose, safety laboratories are operated in which cells and battery modules are thoroughly inspected. The safety tests include mechanical, electrical and thermal test steps so that it can ultimately be assessed how high the real risks of using a battery are.
In some cases, the test cells are so stressed that they are (intentionally) destroyed. A “post-mortem analysis” can later be used to assess where the boundaries of a cell are. The analysis of the consequential damage when the limits are exceeded due to overloading, mechanical damage or temperature fluctuations provides information about production errors, safety risks or predetermined breaking points.
Podcast: „Batteriesicherheit“
Scientist: Prof. Hans Jürgen Seifert
Date: 21.09.2021
Link: https://geladen.podigee.io/17-sicherheit
Video: „Batteriesicherheit“
Scientist: Prof. Hans Jürgen Seifert
Date: 21.09.2021
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx6CVbqDD2c
An electric car is just as safe for the occupants as a vehicle with an internal combustion engine. Accident researchers come to this conclusion again and again. Still, some stubborn prejudices persist.
Not correct. From a statistical point of view, electric vehicles have so far burned significantly less often than combustion engines. Depending on the statistics, combustion engines burn 20 to 40 times more often than electric cars.
Statistics show that self-ignition in e-cars due to technical defects is extremely rare. Concerns that an impact could cause the battery to burn or even explode are also unfounded: in the event of an accident, the high-voltage system is automatically switched off immediately by the crash sensors. The battery packs in the underbody of the vehicles are extensively protected. Investigated accidents involving e-cars show that the occupants generally have more time to get out of the car than in accidents involving cars with petrol or diesel engines.
Not correct! It is correct: E-cars burn differently. So far there is no evidence that e-cars burn faster or even more than combustion engines. Experiments by fire brigades show that the fire intensity does not depend on the type of drive, but rather on the materials used (plastics, cladding, wide tires, etc.): The proportion of these materials is the decisive factor for increased smoke and heat release.
However, it is undisputed that electric cars have to be extinguished differently than previous vehicles in the event of battery fires. Fire brigades use containers filled with water to submerge the car as a whole.
With the resources of the fire brigade, the rescue work succeeds just as quickly as with a car with a conventional drive. For first aiders, too, a burning electric car does not pose a greater risk than any other inflamed vehicle.
The risk of a vehicle fire spreading quickly to the entire vehicle is even lower with an e-car: large amounts of fuel and engine oil cannot escape and the flames can quickly spread to other areas.
Not a single modern electric car has so far received negative results in a crash test. A burning electric car attracts a lot of attention because the technology is still new - but the fear is unfounded.
However, it is undisputed that electric cars have to be extinguished differently than previous vehicles in the event of battery fires. Fire brigades use containers filled with water to submerge the car as a whole.
You a scientist yourself? A journalist, a political decision-maker or business representative? In our newsletters we compile the latest battery research news for you. Specially tailored to your personal area of interest.
