EV fire protection system offered September

EV industry growth has accelerated demand for new fire suppression technologies, says Dafo Vehicle Fire Protection.

It has collaborated on a European Union initiative to provide an EV fire protection system called Li-IonFire, available from September 1, 2020.

“With the rapid introduction of electric and hybrid electric vehicles in public transport, there are new challenges because they present totally different risk scenarios,” says Anders Gulliksson, research and development manager at Dafo Vehicle Fire Protection, coordinator of the EU-funded Li-IonFire (automated e-vehicle lithium-ion battery early warning and fire suppression system) project.

Knowledge is limited about the fire risks associated with new energy vehicles. Consequences connected to li-ion battery risks in case of a malfunction can be serious, possibly resulting in toxic gas emissions or an explosion, says Gulliksson, adding the fire protection system addresses and mitigates such risks effectively and safely.

Fire suppression systems for vehicles have been on the market for decades and are widely used and regulated across a wide variety of industries. However, these systems are tested to be effective on vehicles with internal combustion engines, and all test standards are designed with this in mind, he says.

“When the commonly used li-ion batteries fail through short circuiting, overcharging, high temperatures, mechanical damage and overheating, this might cause thermal runaway and the release of a flammable electrolyte, which makes fire extinguishing very difficult,” Gulliksson says.

“In addition to the dramatic fire scenario with the rapid increase in heat, there are a lot of potentially toxic gases being emitted.”

The project partners, including Dafo Vehicle Fire Protection and RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, explored different techniques to detect potential battery failure as early as possible, and to take immediate action to stop or delay a potentially hazardous situation.

The partners studied various fire risks related to battery spaces, including specific risks when charging and procedures for handling EVs and batteries after a crash.

They also investigated to what extent fixed and integrated fire suppression systems, widely used to protect engine compartments on heavy vehicles, can be applied to vehicles powered by li-ion batteries and how they should be designed.

“If a system is activated at this early stage, the battery can be ‘brought back’ to a safe state without the fire developing further,” explains Gulliksson.

“The tests have also shown that even with a late deployment of the fire suppression system there’s a possibility of delaying the battery reaching a critical state, meaning that the chance of safe evacuation is very high.”

With proper detection and system activation, the hazardous scenario can be reversed and potentially even stopped entirely, Gulliksson says.

The new system provides an early fire warning system, and spot cooling to prevent thermal runaway while localising and suppressing fire.

It was officially unveiled in 2019, and has generated tremendous interest from both end users and vehicle manufacturers, Gulliksson adds.

“Li-IonFire delivers to the market a product that didn’t exist until now; a system that can offer real protection against battery fires, using a new suppression agent, Forrex EV, which is specifically developed for these applications,” he says.

“Li-IonFire will significantly boost the safety of operators and the protection of valuable assets.”

It was initially aimed at electrified buses in public transport.

Prices are not yet provided.

An Innovation Label at Busworld Europe 2019 was awarded to Dafo Vehicle’s research project Li-IonFire – one of the most advanced research projects funded under the EU Framework Program for Research and Innovation – H2020 – through the SME Funding Scheme.