Electrical automobile fires have made headlines for years now, however within the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, the Class 4 hurricane that brought on document devastation from wind, rain, and storm surge, EVs are spontaneously combusting and saltwater is a most important perpetrator. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis urged EV homeowners to get their automobiles to increased floor earlier than Helene hit to forestall submersion and reduce the probability of fires. Tesla advises homeowners to keep away from letting its automobiles develop into submerged, but when it occurs to tow the automobile at the very least 50-feet away from something flamable till it may be inspected by a mechanic.
Saltwater poses an particularly critical danger to electrical automobile batteries as a result of salt conducts electrical energy. The Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration (NHTSA) has been researching this phenomenon since EVs began catching fireplace following Hurricane Sandy in 2012, however quantifying the difficulty has confirmed difficult. Freshwater flooding in California hasn’t brought on the identical frequency of EV fires that Florida has seen within the wake of a number of hurricanes over the previous decade, and researchers imagine saltwater is guilty. Based on the Related Press:
Electrical automobiles with lithium ion batteries can catch fireplace if the batteries quick circuit and begin to warmth up. Tom Barth with the Nationwide Transportation Security Board mentioned that if the warmth begins to unfold between totally different cells within the battery again it could possibly trigger a sequence response referred to as thermal runaway.
“If the saltwater is ready to bridge the hole between the constructive and unfavorable terminals of battery, then it could possibly trigger a brief circuit,” mentioned Barth, who’s chief of the particular investigations department of the NTSB’s workplace of freeway security.
Carmakers do design their batteries to attempt to forestall this drawback. There are sometimes separations or insulation obstacles between totally different cells within the battery pack, and producers take steps to maintain moisture out. However they do have to incorporate methods for the batteries to vent warmth.
“The place it begins to be an issue is when you have the batteries submerged in standing water. That’s the place it begins to beat the moisture seals within the battery,” Barth mentioned.
The harm brought on by submerging an EV in saltwater doesn’t disappear as soon as the water recedes. Typically EVs which were submerged in saltwater can catch fireplace lengthy after the water evaporates for the reason that conductive salt continues to be current. Following Hurricane Ian, it’s estimated that 5,000 EVs had been compromised by water and 36 of them caught fireplace. Not each EV that’s submerged will catch fireplace, but it surely’s necessary to heed warnings since EV fires are so tough to extinguish. Florida at present faces elevated danger of those fires resulting from Hurricane Helene’s storm surge that brought on ocean water to flood some areas as deep as 20 ft. In case your EV has been compromised by flooding of any kind, park your automobile away from something flamable till it may be inspected by knowledgeable.
