If Green Energy is the Future, Bring a Fire Extinguisher

By Steve Goreham

A version of this article was recently published in The Wall Street Journal.

Alternative energy is exploding─literally. Lithium battery fires are breaking out on highways and in factories, home garages, and storage rooms. The rise in battery fires is amplified by government efforts to force adoption of electric vehicles and grid-scale batteries for electric power.

Lithium batteries have high energy density, making them valuable for phones and portable appliances. But when they catch fire, these batteries burn with high heat and can even explode. That’s why airlines prohibit lithium batteries in checked baggage.

On June 24, a battery factory in South Korea caught fire, triggering explosions and killing 22 workers. The fire broke out in Hwaseong at the Aricell plant, a maker of small lithium batteries for sensors and communications devices. Experts estimate that most workers were killed by toxic gases emitted by the burning batteries.

Scotland has suffered two major fires in battery recycling centers this year. On April 8, a large fire broke out at Fenix Battery Recycling in Kilwinning, North Ayrshire. More than 40 firefighters and personnel from six different agencies responded to the blaze, which burned for several days. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service urged nearby residents to remain indoors with windows closed as long as two days after the fire started.

On June 23, a large fire broke out at the battery recycling treatment facility of WEEE Solutions in Glasgow. Eyewitnesses reported explosions, noises like gunshots, “steel flying everywhere,” and a huge plume of black smoke. Ten fire trucks were needed, and the blaze lasted four days.

E-bike battery fires are now the leading cause of fires in New York City, with 216 fires last year. E-bike fires have become a serious problem in Australia, Canada, and other nations as well. Low-quality bike batteries self-ignite in first-floor storerooms, destroying the buildings above. Even high-quality batteries are prone to self-ignition after damage or when connected to a faulty charging system.

Lithium batteries have been used for the last 30 years in phones and small appliances. But the introduction of electric cars (EVs) after the year 2000 provided a massive increase in battery size. Lithium batteries for cars and trucks are 10,000 times as large as phone batteries.

On August 19, a Tesla semi-truck crashed into trees along Interstate-80 in California. The crash ignited the truck’s large lithium battery. Firefighters tried to extinguish the fire with thousands of gallons of water but were forced to let the fire burn itself out. The interstate was shut down for 15 hours. The California Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation passed last year requires all new heavy trucks to be zero emissions vehicles, which practically means electric trucks with batteries prone to fire.

Automakers have been wrestling with lithium battery fires for more than a decade. Alfa Romeo, BMW, Ford, General Motors, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Porche, Tesla, and other manufacturers have recalled millions of EVs because of battery fire problems. Batteries can self-ignite while the vehicle is in motion, when connected to a charger, or even when sitting idly in a parking lot. EVs prone to self-ignition have been prohibited from parking at West Coast parking lots.

In August, a Mercedes-Benz EQE that had been manufactured in China burst into flames in a parking garage in Inchon, Korea. The EV had been parked in the garage for several days and was not charging at the time. The resulting inferno destroyed or damaged 140 vehicles.

On August 24, a fire broke out in the outside parking lot of electric truck manufacturer Rivian in Normal, Illinois. More than 50 trucks were destroyed. The same plant also reportedly suffered three other battery fires in the last year and three more fires in 2021-2022.

How are governments responding to the rash of lithium battery fires? They are doubling down, promoting the use of even larger, grid-scale lithium batteries as part of efforts to transition from coal, oil, and natural gas to wind and solar energy.

Grid-scale batteries are viewed as the solution to wind and solar intermittency, meant to store excess electricity when wind and solar output is high, and then release electricity when wind and solar output is low. But the number of grid battery fires is growing, and grid batteries are hundreds of times larger than EV batteries.

On July 26, a grid battery carried on a truck ignited after a crash on Interstate 15 near Baker, California. The battery was 20 feet long and weighed 75,000 pounds. I-15 was shut down for 44 hours as firefighters worked to put out the blaze. Hundreds of motorists were stranded in the desert in 100-degree heat. Ambulances, medical teams, and fuel and water were dispatched to the site to help stranded motorists.

On May 15, the Gateway Energy Storage facility using lithium-ion batteries caught fire near San Diego, California. Firefighters managed to get the blaze under control in 24 hours, but it then re-ignited twice more and burned for a total of 11 days. Evacuation orders to residents were issued and cancelled periodically, depending on the fire status. The Gateway facility was the largest of its kind when constructed in 2020.

Vice President Kamala Harris recently announced $1 billion in grants for electric school buses. If a diesel bus engine catches fire, the driver can usually put it out with a fire extinguisher. But this is not possible with electric buses, which explode when they catch fire. Let’s hope we’re not headed for fire explosions in electric buses full of children.

The world faces an epidemic of lithium battery fires. If government leaders continue to push lithium batteries and the green energy transition, battery fires will soon be coming to a location near you.

Steve Goreham is a speaker on energy, the environment, and public policy and author of the bestselling book Green Breakdown: The Coming Renewable Energy Failure.