The bottom line is, Chevy Volts and all the other vehicles that use lithium-ion batteries are safe, because they've been engineered to handle the problems that are inherent in those chemistries.
That's not to say that anomalies won't occur. But even for the most skeptical of us, it's got to be hard to believe that all of the engineers at GM, Ford, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Tesla, Toyota, BMW, and every other maker of electric cars and hybrids could have badly miscalculated the risks. No, the fact is, they knew the risks going in, and they've engineered for them.
The cooling system in the Chevy Volt's battery was designed to handle the potential temperature instabilities of lithium-ion batteries. (Photo courtesy of GM.)
In truth, the real downside of those risks is the cost that's required to manage them. That's why so many industry experts quote high prices when they talk about EV battery costs. Automakers don't just slap blocks of cells in hollowed-out car trunks. They invest heavily in designing and building cooling systems. Then they lay out more money to cover warranties, failures, and liabilities. If the Volt fires tell us anything, it's that carmakers have good reason for doing so.
Sadoway of MIT believes that cost, not safety, could be lithium-ion's Achilles heel. "Cooling systems can be built for this application, but cost is an issue," he writes. "In my judgment, the long term solution is to replace the electrolyte with something that is less capable of being rendered unstable."
In the two weeks since the Volt story came to light, news sites have had a field day. Time Magazine asked, "Are electric cars safe?" The New York Times called it a "setback for electric cars." And scores of bloggers opined that it was "only a matter of time" and that GM's response was "troubling."
But if we're worried about the safety of electric cars, we shouldn't be. Consider this: Every day, most of us sit in vehicles that burn gasoline. The gas runs through fuel lines beneath us and around us to an engine, where it explodes repeatedly.
>"If that was a gasoline car that was not properly constructed, and the gasoline burst into flames, it would have been a far worse accident, because of the big difference in energy," Cairns says. "Yet, we accept the tank of gas, and the energy that it represents, and the type of fire that it represents, every day."
Yes, we accept the tank of gas because we trust the engineers to beat the risks. And the situation should be no different in the case of the Volt.
To keep up with our Chevy Volt coverage, go to Drive for Innovation and follow the cross-country journey of EE Life editorial director Brian Fuller. On his trip, sponsored by Avnet Express, Fuller is driving a Volt across America to interview engineers.
of course, they would say that it is safe. who would say that their car products are not safe, right? although based on personal experience, I can say that chevy volt is one of the leading electric cars today. The performance is great and the cost is reasonable. The repairs are easy to do, not to mention their amazing car diagnostic online and repair tips. I just hope that they continue on producing cars like volt and assure people that thair cars are always made with high quality.
dbg your delayed fire comment is true and may be consedered preventable or a non-preventable occurence depending on how handeled. An informed owner may ask for and receive a knowlegeable inspection by a qualified inspector while another owner will NOT exhibt dudilligence and have a delayed fire.
Both WILL probably have insurance. Over time the actuarries will adjust the policies to reflect stupidity and real cost. Other known safety problems such as refuel explosions at gas stations are just as, or more dangerous and exeedingly more frenquent than those of eattery packs.
bdcst Yes agreed, and others fires can be much worse and more spectaluar. Check out windmill fires for instance. But, let me get to the real problem is SAFE ENERGY. Not the battery or buss voltage. How do we get Safe Energy?
The question begs other Qs like what type, where from, at what cost, and the list goes on. Where from, has to be at the top if we want to move on so here is a partial answer that I hope all you young engineers pay attention to thoes flakey old reclusive types and ask the rigut questions. If you do this it WILL lead you to a valley of knowledge that engineering schools don't teach.
So #1 where is this hidden repository?
It is housed in Scientific, Physics, R&D Reports, Patent Offices, universities, corporations, governments, and private;
R&D centers, Labs, Black Ops Centers, Scientific & Physics Libraries History Books, Space......you get the Idea
NOW ask yourself:
Do I have a VERY open mind?
Am I publically closed lipped?
Do I know people with these traits?
Can I be evasive?
Do I have EXCELLENT intution?
Can I calmly hold my own in advanced technical discussion?
Can I exist on little sleep?
If you can say yes to the above you're ready to learn about alternate energy.
Start reading about: Dark, Alternate, Zero, Cold, Quantum, Fusion, Radiant, Transmutation, Energy, New Energy and Matter, etc. Guys like Tesla, Moray, Mallve,Greer, Adamenko,D. Bohm, V. Schauberger,Hubbard, Farnsworth,Barak, Brown, Childress...
These batteries have caused numerous product recalls including thousands of computers and just last month I got a message from Apple recalling my 1st generation, 5 year old iPod due to battery fires!! Apparently as these units aged, they have become more susceptable to initiating fires.
As with all systems, we learn to live with risk managment, by both the provider of the product and the user of the product. However, as systems become more complex, the potential failure modes increase and the reliability decreases. Just remember that the more cells you stuff in a battery and the more electronics you pack around it and its vehicles interfaces, the higher the probability of a failure.
Good point, dgb. Consider this: A gallon of gasoline contains about 30 kWh of energy. That means that a 15-gallon gas tank holds about 450 kWh. In contrast, a Volt battery contains 16 kWh -- equivalent to about half a gallon of gas.
I'm not saying that it doesn't need to be investigated. I'm just saying that we have to put the risks in perspective. Gasoline fires are depressingly common.
We should also note that the fires in question happend a week or two after the damage to the pack was incurred. Most people don't sit in their damaged cars for two weeks.
Alongside gasoline-fueled fires, a big cause of automotive deaths remains distracted driving. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (pdf download), some 33,000 deaths were caused in 2009 by drowsy driving. I don't know if there are stats yet for accidents caused by texting while driving, but I'd bet the numbers are pretty scary. That said, this stuff as well as gas are discrete from the issues raised by Lithium Ion batteries, which need to be investigated.
That's over 300,000 gasoline vehicle fires per year.
Any time you store large volumes of energy there is the risk of fire. I'd rather be sitting in a vehicle with a well-designed battery pack than a tank full of highly flammable gasoline.
Yes, Hollywood does love its pyrotechnics. Hollywood does twist your expectations. Makes you wonder why more of the accidents you see at the side of the road are not bursting into flames.
We still don't know enough about what happened and when we do, we will report it. But too many times, stories in the newspapers and TV news about such subjects take on the apperance of a witch hunt, then they disappear. Consider Toyota's unintended acceleration "problem." Little was written when Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said this after the NHTSA investigation: "The jury is back. The verdict is in. There is no electronic-based cause for unintended high-speed acceleration in Toyotas. Period." And what about the infamous General Motors pickup trucks -- the ones that were profiled on NBC Dateline in a story called "Waiting to Expode?" Those vehicles, too, were supposed to be death traps...until it was learned that NBC faked the explosions with remote control explosives. Again -- I repeat -- we don't yet know what happened here. And, yes, there are anomalies. So, yes, government agencies should certainly investigate this fire (or fires, as the case may be). But until we do know anything definitive, I'm siding with the engineers. For the most part, they have a good track record.
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