Essay by Eric Worrall
What could possibly go wrong?
The new, unusual solution to EV fires: High-speed battery ejection
New technology has been demonstrated in China that sees an electric vehicle’s battery rapidly ejected to keep occupants safe from an imminent fire.
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At an event earlier this month, new technology was demonstrated on Chery’s iCar 03 that can see a vehicle’s high-voltage battery ejected 3-6 metres away within a second of thermal runaway being detected.
It’s ejected from the vehicle using a gas generator, much in the same way as an airbag works, with the idea to get the battery away from vehicle occupants before it catches fire.
In the demonstration video, shared across Chinese media including cnBeta, the battery is ejected with a bang into a nearby pit and then quickly shrouded.
However, there are naturally concerns over the high-speed ejection of a battery weighing potentially several hundred kilograms.
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Read more: https://www.carexpert.com.au/car-news/the-new-unusual-solution-to-ev-fires-high-speed-battery-ejection
My first thought was, surely this is a joke. But if it is a joke, someone has gone to a lot of trouble to make it look real.
MGUY has responded in his usual measured way to this latest EV safety innovation.
A burning EV battery is essentially a thermite bomb. Adding a gas catapult to the thermite bomb turns the vehicle battery into a short range thermite bomb launcher.
Would this EV innovation be legal in countries which restrict gun ownership? Imagine if Europe’s violent street gangs got their hands on such weapons.
To be fair the explosive battery ejector system likely does improve safety for the vehicle occupants. Probably not so much for any unlucky pedestrians walking past when the ejection system is triggered.
I’m kind of lost for words on this latest EV innovation. I mean I once thought of publishing this idea on WUWT as an April fools joke, but I decided not to, because I thought the idea was too stupid to trick anyone.
Not to mention that heaving a half ton of batteries that far means anything in the way, like, say, another vehicle, a building, or a parking garage wall, is going to create its own impact.
It would probably be safer to install zero-zero ejection seats for the passengers.
It would probably be safer not to own an EV, just my 2c
Some Ting Wong
Bang den ow.
First lol of the day.
Thanks.
(I know, small things tickle a small mind.)
“It would probably be safer to install zero-zero ejection seats for the passengers.”
Not if you are already in that parking garage.
They could call it the Darwin Ejection System, improving the gene pool one ejection at a time.
Yeah but what goes up will still come down. Idiots foolish enough to buy worse-than-useless EVs would likely cause a pile up when they come down into highway traffic…
A slight azimuth adjustment would rectify that situation.
Still safer. Still only affects the (former) occupants.
And all occupants of other vehicles that end up in the resulting pile up when they “land” in the middle of a road or highway…
Not to mention their car, that is still barreling down the highway at the same speed it was before the passengers were “ejected”.
Well, there’s levels of peril. Would you prefer instant death via a broken neck or to be burned alive?
Or the hydrogen cyanide gas produced might kill you quickly, or the hydrogen fluoride gas (when inhaled) will get you in 24 hr or so.
Nasty stuff !!
I’m still trying to picture a ~ 1000lb battery being ejected … the inertia of the thing could be deadly even if not on fire. Likewise, if the EV was moving at the time you would lose all control: it becomes an unguided missile.
However, from what I’ve read, most fires occur while charging (ie at rest).
It would be illegal in Australia for a number of public safety reasons but I was thinking same thing why not install ejector seats … what could possibly go wrong 🙂
What I was impressed with is someone was dumb enough to actually build this thing.
There’s the high velocity impact potential on anything near by (other cars, pedestrians, buildings)
Then there’s the Bomb aspect
Then there’s the prospect of that bomb stopping under another EV and causing further thermal runaway in that vehicle.
Then there’s the problem of exiting the car as the battery allowing for door unlock is gone
Set up the electronics so that the signal to unlock the doors precedes the signal to eject the battery. Or perhaps a small battery with enough power to run the basic electronics for a minute or two.
Better yet, set up the electronics to eject the occupants a short distance vertically as soon as they attempt to start the EV. Then the land on top of it and can run away if it starts to self-immolate. Protects everyone not stupid enough to buy an EV from the consequences of the EV buyer’s stupid decision.
Now that’s how a hardware engineer thinks!
Just let a few of these flying batteries hit pedestrians or other vehicles and the personal injury lawyers will have a field day, especially if the vehicle manufacturers are made to shoulder the blame.
And you though driving behind a gravel truck was bad…
All EVs are required to travel single file.
But the battery eject appears to be to the side…needs to be to the rear.
Too many scenarios where this could cause more damage or injury to the car and its’ occupants or others. Car lands on its’ side after accident …. does it launch up and fall back down on the car? Car lands on the ejection side where does the battery go and does the explosion lift the car? Car stops with off ejection side blocked do passengers have to exit over burning battery? Battery ejects burning battery under a full fuel tanker, other car, or into a building? The nightmare is endless.
The battery ejects on a crowded multilane highway while car is going 70 mph. The ensuing multivehicle pile-up could be quite deadly. This is an epically bad idea that should never have been allowed to even get to the prototype stage.
What if the battery swells and then does not leave the vehicle and the explosion to eject the battery actually cause the secondary explosion of the battery itself. Have people lost their minds?
This cannot possibly be serious (and if it is it could never be used)?
The potential of injury to other people and damage to other cars/property is far too high, as is the likely presence of some obstruction like a kurb, car, street furniture etc. that would prevent full ejection and could even send the car rolling in the opposite direction.
Or would it be under driver control, but then you know the problem?
https://youtu.be/Dlr0xSYOieM
All you’ll get is this message on the Dash Display
Please exit the vehicle
If you have a trash problem, quietly dump it in the river so it becomes the next village’s trash problem…
Seems like random nonsense out of China, not to be taken seriously.
I see that “China” is doing a “Manhattan Project” orbital solar power beaming to earth … project. That should be interesting to watch.
Was it China or one of the other Asian countries in the 007 movie, “Goldeneye” ??
After the first fire and sinking of a ship at sea, I suggest it
makes sense on an ocean transport to place the EVs on the top deck on a catapult. The videos would be in great demand.
The idea of this post is as crazy as net zero or pineapple on pizza.
I like pineapple on pizza.
Is there a demo planned and a petition for Minister Bowen to make this safety measure compulsory? Is Albo on the blower to Xi about retrospectivity and recalls? This is bigger than Covid and where is my Gummint on this dire threat to the kiddies and fluffy kittens?
Can’t help thinking there might be a few minor issues using a device like this in fire prone Australia. Or California for that matter.
No Eric.. all bushfires are caused by “Climate Change”.. surely you know that by now. ! 😉
Yes my bad 🙂
This sounds like Wile E Coyote’s latest invention. 😉
If they don’t market this under the Acme brand, they’re even bigger idiots.
It must really suck to be on the other side.
Wouldn’t ejecting a battery on fire be analogous to throwing a Molotov cocktail? Seriously, some ideas are best left written down on paper, wadded up, and tossed in the trash.
Good heavens. Whatever happened to all the assurances that electric car batteries were safe and effective? Perhaps this means that they can be made even safer and more effective.
MGUY points out the auto club guy interviewed in his video repeatedly kept saying how safe batteries are. But last time I checked ICE vehicles don’t need an ejection system for the gasoline tank.
And a gasoline tank never loses capacity overtime. 22 gallon tanks still hold 22 gallons 20 years later.
It also weighs 400 times less than a battery
I suspect the gas would be a bit skunky after 20 years.
From the Carexpert website quoted in the article, it is stated that:
“It’s possible that, should this technology come to production vehicles, it’ll be accompanied by cameras and radar to ensure a battery isn’t ejected at speed into neighbouring pedestrians and vehicles.”
“Neither the Chinese Vehicle Collision Repair Technical and Research Center nor Joyson Electronics have published any more information about this technology, so it’s unclear whether there are any plans for it to be offered to automakers.”
So, there’s no need to get your knickers in a twist. (wink)
Guys, its obviously a joke! And quite a good one. Even if it is a bit late in the year.
That was my initial response to Net Zero.
The Chinese calendar is different from ours.
. . . and isn’t this the Chinese year of the Fool?
I noticed this ad under the story …
Arthritis? It Can Be Fixed In 3 Days! Get The Recipe Here
… same source as the battery ejector?
Will the ejection be initiated automatically when overheating/fire occurs?
If so, since most BEV fires occur when the vehicle is parked, that would rocket burning batteries into other parked vehicle, the neighbour’s garden, and other areas spreading the fire. Will be very good in tunnels, on ferries.
What goes up, must burn down.
Many EVs have the batteries below the cabin floor. Fun to watch those eject, eh?
I can see this creating the equivalent of a domino rally.
Congested traffic, bumper to bumper.
One car ejects. The mass lands on the second that now ejects. Rinse, spin, repeat down miles and miles of traffic.
Hey. That would make a great movie!
I was going to make a crack about “The Domino Effect”.
Glad I waited. 😎
This is the best signal EVER that the Western world has nothing to fear from “the advancements of science and technology” coming out of China. No wonder they are spending so much effort and money to obtain Western technology and IP!
/sarc
No problem. If the battery ejects, then just yell out “Watch out for the flying battery!”
Or include a loudspeaker in the system that would yell “Fore!!”.
(Do they still say that in golf?)
Many golf courses offer EVs for the golfers.
I can just see it now: multiple vehicle pileup on the freeway, and then this thing ejects its battery into another pile of cars next to it, and then EVERYONE goes up in flames. They just didn’t think this thing through AT ALL…
What are the chances this thing can be remotely triggered..?
Sure, kill someone on the sidewalk, start a building on fire, start an adjacent car on fire.
What marketing idjit thought it up?