Since last month, a number of incidents involving two wheeled flames have shocked Indian car enthusiasts (EV) aficionados. Such risks are a major source of concern for EV industry stakeholders and their customers. Some have blamed fires on a combination of rising temperatures in our cities and weak EV battery control technology. However, blaming the weather is wrong. Many common assumptions about the causes of EV fires, such as the Indian summer and adequate heat management, are not true.
Instead, we should focus on how a lithium-ion battery (Li-ion) is made and packaged. An EV using lithium-ion cells (Li-ion) must reach a temperature of a few hundred degrees Celsius before encountering a ‘heat escape incident,’ which leads to EV fire. Extremely hot weather and improper battery temperature control systems can reduce performance and limit battery life, but they do not cause fire. Many manufacturers of Li-ion batteries make sure they turn off automatically at 45-55 degrees Celsius. It is unlikely that ambient temperatures and heat generated by batteries would cause a spike of a few hundred degrees Celsius if these safety devices were not built into the car.
These flames are a problem for QC, which is probably something that has been overlooked during the design stage. It is possible that the weather patterns of the target areas were not taken into account, the package assembly method was not resistant to rigidity, or limited testing did not reveal defects in the armor. Over the past year, we have seen an increase in demand for electric vehicles, especially two-wheeled vehicles, and consecutive auctions. Given the growing demand worldwide, there has also been an uproar over the protection of battery cell supply networks. As a result, OEMs seek solutions to ensure that their production systems are not compromised. While multiple cells from different manufacturers produce the same specific band effects, QC can be a major factor.
Cell selection is an important part of the battery pack design process, and cell variability can lead to significant differences in packet output. As a result, when multi-cell chain chains are tested, each one must be carefully examined beyond the initial selection. Testing a cell model requires extensive testing to ensure performance and safety under a variety of conditions, and it is not a quick process.
Most batteries burn in recent years have been created by short circuits that lead to uncontrolled electricity. Cells reach a temperature of about 100 ° C in this state. Short circuits are caused by low cell quality and careless battery formation, and a lack of competent battery management system (BMS) is a condition in which cells can be effectively cared for with the necessary sensors and software technology. This increase in temperature affects the health and performance of the battery, but does not cause EV fires. It takes a few hundred degrees Celsius for a lithium-ion battery to catch fire. This is not possible with the ambient temperature or the battery generated by the active battery.
For a battery cell to reach the temperature of a fire, there must be a short circuit. Many EV firefighters use NMC batteries, which are very sensitive to heat. In order to use a high-temperature battery, no safety measures have been taken at the battery pack level to ensure proper cooling. Fire extinguishers were not available in those vehicles as they would increase the car’s cost, capacity and weight. Many OEMs cut corners to save money and promise longer battery life, only to produce products that do not have all the necessary design features.
The past year has seen a dramatic increase in the production of electric vehicles and batteries. Production is a labor-intensive task. Building capacity takes time. When the production scale is expanded, there are QC problems that need to be resolved, which takes time. It is not a fast process, at least not as fast as it was a year or two. Increasing productivity, if not done properly, can be confusing and lead to nightmares for QC.
Both the integration of EV / battery and the associated vendor ecosystem is very new in India, so QC standards will take some time to establish. Differences in quality may occur due to the rapid expansion of the battery assembly and the development of production / supplier parts.
FAME support encourages OEMs to bring larger battery packs without changing car designs. Attempts to add extra volume to the same volume compel package designers to offer package engineering safety. The main reason for these fires is the increase in the number of vehicles sold before the level of quality control is adjusted.
measuring the quality control of battery pack assembly (and component construction) must be completed. We need reliable local chains designed with Indian conditions in mind. QC production problems exist in cell production, no doubt even more so. India has not yet achieved LIB cell production, and PLI programs need significant increases. The manufacturing process of a normal LIB cell is extremely sensitive to QC, and even minor errors can cause serious safety problems. Cell production in India should be approached with caution, with a good understanding of technology and its limitations, lest we face even worse when cells are produced locally that reach a large EV market. If the LIB cell design and production process can be adapted to Indian conditions while keeping in mind the impact of the process on QC, it could be a game-changing response to battery burning. We need a built-in temperature sensor system. When a battery cell reaches a certain temperature, the system shuts off the power, shuts off the vehicle, or alerts the user to move the vehicle to a location where the vehicle will not cause loss of life or property if it burns.
On the charger side, it was also needed. Many people today use smart chargers to charge their electric cars. These chargers are more likely to be able to connect to the battery pack and obtain information about battery temperature or health. We need to work on the failsafe modes so that the charger indicates that the battery temperature has reached dangerous levels and can no longer be charged. Many rules related to EV Industry also emerge, but the industry always has the option to stay before the curve. Strict temperature verification should be provided by all EV players and provided to customers when purchasing a new car. Many foreign company labs have to be set up in India to test these batteries for various temperatures, high and low, and operating conditions, and to provide temperature certificates to OEMs.
Misunderstandings in the era of viral media may have a negative impact on the future of electric vehicles, which are very useful in the country. Therefore, in order to avoid future events, we must separate ourselves from our standards and values of India’s highways. Even if the regulator does not want you, industry players may choose to receive a third-party certificate. With this in mind, I can only say that such inconsistencies and obstacles are inevitable while advancing to modern technology, and that it will ultimately lead to better solutions and safety measures installed in electric vehicles.