INF.30

Economic Commission for Europe

Inland Transport Committee

Working Party on the Transport of Dangerous Goods

107th session 30 November 2019 Geneva, 11-15 November 2019 Item 8 of the provisional agenda Any other business

Firebox – Fire Prevention for damaged or defective Lithium Batteries in Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV)

Transmitted by the Government of Switzerland

Fire

box

–Fi

re P

reve

ntio

n fo

r dam

aged

or d

efec

tive

Lithi

um B

atte

ries

in B

atte

ry

Elec

tric

Vehi

cles

(BEV

)

And

reas

Kre

bs, C

EO, B

LUBO

X Tr

adin

g A

GW

P 15

Mee

ting,

Nov

embe

r 201

9

1

•D

amag

ed lit

hium

bat

terie

s may

cat

ch fi

re o

r sel

f-ign

ite.

•Th

ese

batte

ry fi

res a

re d

iffic

ult t

o ex

tingu

ish.

•Fi

refig

hter

s hav

e ha

d d

iffer

ent e

xper

ienc

es a

nd k

now

how

; im

porta

nt it

is to

reac

t qui

ckly

.

•A

fter e

xtin

guish

ing,

qua

rant

ine

and

mon

itorin

g is

nece

ssar

y d

ue to

re

-igni

tion.

•W

e sh

ould

be

prep

ared

for a

fire

with

a lit

hium

bat

tery

.

Intro

duct

ion

2

1.Fi

re R

epor

t of L

ithiu

m B

atte

ries

2.W

hat d

o w

e kn

ow a

bout

Lith

ium

Bat

terie

s and

Fire

s

3.C

ompa

rison

of p

orta

ble

Fire

Ext

ingu

isher

s

4.Th

e Fi

rebo

x. W

hat i

s it?

5.A

eros

ol E

xtin

guish

er. H

ow d

oes i

t wor

k?

6.Sa

les F

orec

ast o

f Veh

icle

s

7.C

oncl

usio

ns

Con

tent

3

Fire

of L

ithiu

m B

atte

ries

on a

Truc

k Se

mi-T

raile

r

4

•A

truc

k se

mi-t

raile

r with

20

tons

use

d L

ithiu

m

Batte

ries t

ook

fire.

•W

hen

the

first

em

erge

ncy

vehi

cles

arri

ved

sh

ortly

afte

r the

ala

rm w

as so

und

ed, t

he tr

aile

r w

as a

lread

y co

mpl

etel

y on

fire

. "Sm

alle

r and

la

rger

exp

losio

ns fo

rced

us t

o re

treat

aga

in a

nd

agai

n," s

aid

a sp

okes

man

for t

he H

ilden

fire

br

igad

e. F

our h

ours

afte

r the

out

brea

k, th

e fir

e w

as a

lmos

t und

er c

ontro

l. H

owev

er, t

he fi

re-

fight

ers h

ad to

coo

l and

ext

ingu

ish th

e ca

rgo

for 1

6 ho

urs u

nder

a fo

am c

arpe

t unt

il the

fire

w

as c

ompl

etel

y ex

tingu

ished

.

Inci

den

t Hild

en; N

RZ, N

eue

Ruhr

Zei

tung

Mar

ch 2

016

Fire

of a

n El

ectri

c C

ar

5

•Fr

om st

art t

o a

full f

ire in

min

utes

. •

10’0

00 lit

ers o

f wat

er h

ave

been

ne

cess

ary

to e

xtin

guish

the

fire.

•Ev

en a

fter e

xtin

guish

ing

the

fire

re-ig

nite

d

spon

tane

ously

.•

Afte

r tha

t, it’

s also

reco

mm

end

ed th

at th

e ca

r be

put i

n “q

uara

ntin

e” fo

r 48

hour

s, ju

st in

cas

e of

a n

ew fi

re.

•Tr

ansp

ort o

f the

car

to a

qua

rant

ine

site

is ne

cess

ary.

Inci

den

t Ken

t (W

A);

NBC

New

s Oct

ober

201

3

Con

stru

ctio

n of

Li-I

on B

atte

ries

Basic

ally

a lit

hium

ion

batte

ry is

mad

e of

an:

•an

ode

•ca

thod

e

•se

para

tor

•an

d e

lect

roly

te

•an

d a

BM

S

BMS

= ba

ttery

m

onito

ring

elec

troni

cs (c

ontro

l an

d m

anag

emen

t of

the

batte

ry)

6

Com

posit

ion

of L

i-Ion

Bat

terie

sLiC

oO2

LiCoN

iAlO

2LiF

ePO

4M

ass-

%

Elec

troly

teSa

ltLiF

P 6(L

ithiu

m h

exaf

luor

opho

spha

te)

0.1

–5

Solv

ent

Ethy

lene

Car

bona

te(C

3H4O

3)D

ieth

yl C

arbo

nate

(C5H

10O

3)Pr

opyl

ene

Car

bona

te(C

4H6O

3)

3 –

10

Sepa

rato

rPV

DF

(Pol

yvin

ylid

ene

fluor

ide)

1

Cat

hode

(+)

Alu

min

um2

–10

LiCoO

2LiC

oNiA

lO2

LiFeP

O4

20 –

50

Ano

de (-

)C

oppe

r3

–15

Gra

phite

10 –

30

Hous

ing

/ C

ase

Iron,

Nic

kel,

Alu

min

um, e

tc.

Bala

nce

7

Haza

rdou

s Su

bsta

nces

in L

i-Ion

Bat

terie

sLiC

oO2

LiCoN

iAlO

2LiF

ePO

4M

ass-

%

Elec

troly

teSa

ltLiF

P 6 (L

ithiu

m h

exaf

luor

opho

spha

te)

0.1

–5

Solv

ent

Ethy

lene

Car

bona

te(C

3H4O

3)D

ieth

yl C

arbo

nate

(C5H

10O

3)Pr

opyl

ene

Car

bona

te(C

4H6O

3)

3 –

10

Sepa

rato

rPV

DF

(Pol

yvin

ylid

ene

fluor

ide)

1

Cat

hode

(+)

Alu

min

um2

–10

LiCoO

2LiC

oNiA

lO2

LiFeP

O4

20 –

50

Ano

de (-

)C

oppe

r3

–15

Gra

phite

10 –

30

Hous

ing

/ C

ase

Iron,

Nic

kel,

Alu

min

um, e

tc.

Bala

nce

8

•Ra

pid

dev

elop

men

t fro

m fi

re

outb

reak

to fu

ll fire

.

•Re

leas

e of

haz

ard

ous

subs

tanc

es.

•D

iffic

ult t

o ex

tingu

ish.

•A

fter e

xtin

guish

ing

the

batte

ry

mus

t be

cool

ed d

own.

•Ba

tterie

s can

reig

nite

.

Wha

t do

we

know

abo

ut L

i-Ion

Bat

tery

Fire

s

9

Lithi

um B

atte

ry F

ire E

xtin

guish

ing

Test

•V

ideo

com

pare

s th

ree

extin

guish

ing

agen

ts:

–Fo

am–

Pow

der

–N

-EXT

•Te

st se

tup:

18

2 Li-

Ion

1865

0 ba

tterie

s

48V

olt,

37A

h, 1

.9kW

h

10

The

fire

tetra

hed

ron

expl

ains

the

four

ele

men

ts

requ

ired

to m

ake

a fir

e: h

eat,

oxyg

en, f

uel a

nd fr

ee

rad

ical

s. E

limin

atin

g an

y on

e of

thes

e el

emen

ts w

ill ex

tingu

ish a

fire

. F-

500

EA re

mov

es th

ree

elem

ents

.

N-E

XT /

F-5

00

11

Prop

ertie

s of

N-E

XT•

Red

uce

the

surfa

ce te

nsio

n of

the

wat

er

•Ra

pid

ly a

bsor

b th

e he

at

•En

caps

ulat

e th

e fu

el

•In

terru

pt th

e fre

e ra

dic

al c

hain

reac

tion

12

The

Fire

box

•It

is a

solu

tion

for t

he sa

fe st

orag

e an

d

trans

port

of lit

hium

bat

terie

s and

d

evic

es w

ith lit

hium

bat

terie

s.

•W

ith a

n in

tegr

ated

fire

ala

rm a

nd

Aer

osol

ext

ingu

ishin

g sy

stem

.

•Fo

r per

man

ent m

onito

ring

and

au

tom

atic

ext

ingu

ishin

g w

ithin

a fe

w

seco

nds a

fter t

he o

utbr

eak

of th

e fir

e.

13

The

Fire

box

Opt

ions

•20

or 4

0 fo

ot c

onta

iner

.•

LED

light

.•

Sprin

kler

syst

em w

ith S

torz

con

nect

ion

•C

olle

ctio

n tra

y fo

r liq

uid

s.•

Batte

ry p

ower

supp

ly.

•W

inch

.•

Slid

ing

plat

form

for t

he sa

lvag

e of

d

am

age

d E

V.

•Ho

ok sy

stem

for u

se a

s rol

l-off

cont

aine

r.•

Sid

e d

oors

.•

Fire

ext

ingu

isher

s.

14

The

Fire

box

Salv

age

Con

tain

er•

Mad

e fo

r the

salv

age

and

tran

spor

t of

dam

aged

ele

ctric

veh

icle

s.

•Th

e fir

e al

arm

and

ext

ingu

ishin

g sy

stem

pr

otec

ts y

ou d

urin

g tra

nspo

rt.

•In

the

even

t of i

gniti

on a

nd fi

re d

urin

g tra

nspo

rt, th

e sy

stem

soun

ds t

he a

larm

an

d e

xtin

guish

es th

e fir

e.

•Yo

u ca

n co

ntin

ue th

e tra

nspo

rt to

a

quar

antin

e st

atio

n an

d a

lert

the

fire

brig

ade.

15

Extin

guish

ing

of a

Bat

tery

Fire

in th

e Fi

rebo

x

•V

ideo

show

s a fi

re

of L

i Ion

bat

terie

s an

d h

ow it

is

extin

guish

ed in

the

Fire

box.

•Te

st se

tup:

18

2 Li-

Ion

1865

0 ba

tterie

s

48V

olt,

37A

h, 1

.9kW

h

16

Extin

guish

ing

of a

Bat

tery

Fire

in th

e Fi

rebo

x

•V

ideo

show

s a fi

re o

f Li I

on

batte

ries a

nd h

ow it

is

extin

guish

ed in

the

Fire

box.

•Te

st se

tup:

Li-

Ion

1865

0 ba

tterie

s

144x

36V

olt/

14.5

Ah,

75k

Wh

17

Fire

Pro

Aer

osol

Ext

ingu

ishin

g Te

chno

logy

18

1.A

fter a

ctiv

atio

n, th

e so

lid F

PC c

ompo

und

tran

sfor

ms i

nto

a ra

pid

ly sp

read

ing

cond

ense

d e

xtin

guish

ing

aero

sol,

cons

istin

g m

ainl

y of

pot

assiu

m sa

lt ba

sed

K2C

O3,

H2O

(s

team

), N

2 an

d C

O2.

2.W

hen

the

cond

ense

d a

eros

ol re

ache

s and

reac

ts w

ith th

e fla

me,

Pot

assiu

m ra

dic

als (

K*) a

re fo

rmed

mai

nly

from

the

disa

ssoc

iatio

n of

K2C

O3.

The

K*s

bin

d to

oth

er fl

ame

free

rad

ical

s (hy

dro

xyls

-OH-

) for

min

g st

able

pro

duc

ts su

ch a

s KO

H. T

his a

ctio

n ex

tingu

ishes

fire

with

out d

eple

ting

the

ambi

ent o

xyge

n co

nten

t. KO

H re

acts

furth

er in

the

pres

ence

of

CO

2 an

d fo

rms K

2CO

3.3.

The

solid

par

ticle

s of P

otas

sium

Car

bona

te (K

2CO

3) re

mai

n in

susp

ensio

n in

the

prot

ecte

d ro

om/e

nclo

sure

for a

t lea

st 3

0 m

inut

es, p

reve

ntin

g fu

rther

re-ig

nitio

n of

the

fire.

Fire

Pro

extin

guis

hes

fires

at

the

mol

ecul

ar

leve

l by

inhi

bitin

g ch

emic

al c

hain

re

actio

ns!

Sour

ce: F

irePr

o Sy

stem

s 201

9

Sale

s Fo

reca

st o

f Veh

icle

s

•W

e ar

e at

the

begi

nnin

g of

a

new

era

.

•D

iese

lgat

ean

d g

loba

l w

arm

ing

are

push

ing

carm

aker

s to

prod

uce

EV.

•Th

e cu

rrent

glo

bal E

V m

arke

t sh

are

in 2

018

is 6%

.

•It

will

incr

ease

to 8

% b

y 20

20,

to 2

4% b

y 20

25 a

nd to

48%

by

203

0.So

urce

: Bos

ton

Con

sulti

ng G

roup

, 201

8

19

Why

an

ADR

rest

rictio

n fo

r the

tran

spor

t of B

EV

with

dam

aged

or d

efec

tive

batte

ries?

1.Tr

ansp

ort o

f dam

aged

or d

efec

tive

batte

ries i

s res

trict

ed u

nder

AD

R.

2.Bu

t the

tran

spor

t of B

EV w

ith d

ama

ged

or d

efec

tive

batte

ries i

s not

rest

ricte

d u

nder

AD

R.

3.W

e al

l agr

ee th

at d

amag

ed o

r def

ectiv

e ba

tterie

s rep

rese

nt a

hig

h-ris

k po

tent

ial.

4.W

ithou

t res

trict

ion,

this

trans

port

of B

EV w

ith d

amag

ed o

r def

ectiv

e ba

tterie

s is c

arrie

d o

ut

by n

on-p

rofe

ssio

nals

with

out a

ny ri

sk p

reca

utio

ns.

5.Th

e re

stric

tion

shou

ld a

pply

to th

e tra

nspo

rt of

BEV

with

dam

aged

or d

efec

tive

batte

ries

from

the

road

side

assis

tanc

e ca

r par

k to

the

gara

ge o

r to

third

par

ties.

6.Ro

adsid

e as

sista

nce

and

resc

ue p

erso

nnel

are

resc

ue e

xper

ts a

nd e

xem

pt fr

om A

DR

regu

latio

ns.

7.Th

e tra

nspo

rt of

a B

EV, s

ecur

ed in

a c

onta

iner

with

an

auto

mat

ic fi

re e

xtin

guish

ing

syst

em,

crea

tes s

afet

y an

d p

reve

nts c

arel

ess t

rans

port.

20

Con

clus

ions

1.Th

ere

is no

safe

ty c

heck

for l

ithiu

m b

atte

ries t

hat g

uara

ntee

s you

th

at n

o in

cid

ent w

ill oc

cur.

2.Fi

res f

rom

lithi

um b

atte

ries a

re d

iffic

ult t

o ex

tingu

ish a

nd re

leas

e d

ange

rous

and

toxic

subs

tanc

es.

3.So

oner

we

star

t ext

ingu

ishin

g th

e fir

e, g

reat

er th

e ch

ance

s of

succ

ess.

4.Th

e ex

tingu

ishin

g ae

roso

l rea

ches

eve

ry so

urce

of f

ire.

5.Th

e Fi

rebo

x is

a sm

art s

olut

ion

for t

he sa

fe tr

ansp

ort o

f BEV

with

d

amag

ed o

f def

ectiv

e lit

hium

bat

terie

s.

21

Be p

repa

red!

And

reas

Kre

bs, B

LUBO

X Tr

adin

g A

Gw

ww

.blu

box.

ch /

and

reas

.kre

bs@

blub

ox.c

h

22