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California firefighters had to douse a flaming battery in a Tesla Semi with about 50,000 gallons (190,000 liters) of water to extinguish flames after a crash, the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday.

In addition to the huge amount of water, firefighters used an aircraft to drop fire retardant on the “immediate area” of the electric truck as a precautionary measure, the agency said in a preliminary report.

Firefighters said previously that the battery reached temperatures of 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit (540 Celsius) while it was in flames.

The NTSB sent investigators to the Aug. 19 crash along Interstate 80 near Emigrant Gap, about 70 miles (113 kilometers) northeast of Sacramento. The agency said it would look into fire risks posed by the truck’s large lithium-ion battery.

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[-] GeneralEmergency@lemmy.world 22 points 6 days ago

For as much as people want their Musky circlejerks. This is really just a problem with the switch the EVs that people aren't willing to accept.

There is no way to really stop an EV battery fire.

The batteries in these cars are made up of several cells, packed into a watertight, fire resistant box. When just one of those cells goes it's over. It can create a chemical reaction that can ignite the cells without the need for oxygen, pure heat will set them off.

The only real way of dealing with them is to let them burn themselves out, and even after that they aren't safe and could reignite.

[-] DudeImMacGyver@sh.itjust.works 2 points 6 days ago

The way to stop them is solid state batteries

[-] wolfpack86@lemmy.world 15 points 6 days ago

Or maybe just good guys with Li-ion batteries.

[-] DudeImMacGyver@sh.itjust.works 4 points 5 days ago

What we really need is POCKET SAND!

[-] GreyEyedGhost@lemmy.ca 2 points 5 days ago

And absolutely HUGE pockets!

[-] Fosheze@lemmy.world 6 points 6 days ago

It's not the electrolyte that's the issue, it's the lithium. Solid electrolyte batteries wont make any difference. Unless by solid state you mean, no chemical reaction and we just switch to electrostatic cells, but that is nowhere near viable.

[-] DudeImMacGyver@sh.itjust.works 2 points 5 days ago

I had been told that solid state batteries are far more stable and less likely to have thermal runaway. Is that just bullshit?

[-] Fosheze@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago

It's less likely, but if they do get lit on fire then you still have a class D fire on your hands. Unfortunately with car accidents and that much energy being stored in one place, fires are going to happen.

[-] DudeImMacGyver@sh.itjust.works 1 points 5 days ago

Supposedly there are non lithium solid state batteries, but I'm not aware of any commonly available for EVs

[-] wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago

You'll take my spinning platter batteries from my cold, dead hands

[-] glitchdx@lemmy.world 4 points 6 days ago

that sounds great, where can I buy one?

[-] DudeImMacGyver@sh.itjust.works 2 points 5 days ago
[-] glitchdx@lemmy.world 1 points 5 days ago

honestly, i don't expect an answer. New battery tech gets announced every year, claiming to revilutionize energy storage. None have made it to market in any meaningful way, if at all. Lithium batteries hit the sweet spot of price to performance, and nothing else can compete. Looking forward to the day that changes.

[-] GreyEyedGhost@lemmy.ca 2 points 5 days ago

Massive changes have been happening in the battery field for decades, they just aren't fast. Our rechargeable batteries are smaller, more energy-dense, longer-lasting, and cheaper than they were 40 years ago. They aren't magical, last forever, infinite power, instant recharge batteries, though, that's correct.

[-] DudeImMacGyver@sh.itjust.works 2 points 5 days ago

So, you actually can buy solid state batteries now at least as external battery packs to charge phones and whatnot, but they're still lithium based,

this post was submitted on 13 Sep 2024
347 points (95.8% liked)

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