Tag: battery safety

Advantages of SoNick battery for installations

Posted on by Linda

Below is a summary of some of the differences between the SoNick battery and other battery technologies.

SoNick will not catch fire

The SoNick battery cannot catch fire or explode. It is the only chemistry UL9540A certified for safety from thermal runaway. This means no risk of fire or explosion, even in the presence of external fire.

All lithium-ion batteries have the potential to catch fire. Depending on the particular lithium-ion technology and safety features included with the battery, the ignition point may change, i.e. the ignition point for lithium ion phosphate is higher than that for lithium manganese cobalt.

If a battery installation is situated next to a building and the battery catches fire it is quite possible for the whole building to be burnt as a result of the difficulties associated with extinguishing lithium-ion fires. Also, when lithium batteries catch fire toxic fumes are given off.

SoNick capacity doesn’t degrade over service life

The SoNick battery doesn’t degrade over its service life. After 10 years you should still be operating at your original capacity.

Continue reading “Advantages of SoNick battery for installations” →

Electric bus battery explosion fires

Posted on by Linda

As the world moves towards electrifying the transport system with the utilisation of electric cars, scooters, busses, trains etc. we need to make sure we take into account the inherent dangers of lithium-ion batteries.

It is not uncommon for lithium-ion batteries to catch fire while charging whether they are in phones, computers, work tools, house batteries or electric vehicles. There are many instances of houses and businesses being burnt due to these fires.

One of the issues with lithium-ion battery fires is the temperatures the fire will quickly get to (excess of 1000oC) and the speed with which the fire will spread to anything adjoining it. The biggest issue is that fire brigades are unable to easily extinguish a lithium-ion battery fire. All they can really do is protect surrounding assets to prevent the fire spreading.

6 buses destroyed in UK 230522 – 2 were electric – https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10842785/Bus-explodes-Potters-Bar-bus-garage-engulfed-flames-six-vehicles-damaged-fire.html. 2 electric and 4 non-electric busses were destroyed. Believed to have started in one lithium-ion battery exploding while being charged. Fire quickly destroyed that bus and spread to adjoining busses and busses were alight within minutes when firemen arrived. Plumes of toxic smoke could be seen 18 kilometres away. Onlookers likened the ‘unbelievable noise’ to that of an explosion. There were no reported injuries.

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Tesla Victorian big battery fire

Posted on by Linda

The Tesla Victorian big battery fire at Moorabool near Geelong in Victoria is another example of why smaller community-based neighbourhood batteries are a preferable way forward for making the energy supply more renewable. With smaller installations that are more spread out and serve the community in which they are based there is less likelihood of larger electricity supply interruptions when a large power supplier has issues and has to be taken off line for safety reasons.

The 300MW/450MWH capacity big battery comprised of Tesla batteries in multiple shipping containers was registered with AEMO on 28th July 2021. During testing on 30th July 2021 one cell failed and caught fire and quickly engulfed the container in which the batteries were housed. This then spread to another container which was also destroyed. Luckily fire fighters were able to keep other containers cool enough so that they didn’t also catch fire. The blaze was finally extinguished 4 days later. 150 firefighters and 30 fire trucks and support vehicles attended the fire along with many other multi-agency specialists.

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Battery safety and fire risk

Posted on by Linda

When installing energy storage batteries more people are becoming aware or the risks associated with batteries that have a possibility of going into thermal runaway.

Over the last few years there have been a number of reports of fires and explosions being caused by lithium ion batteries.

‘Zombie batteries’ causing hundreds of waste fires, experts warn

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Medical Centre – Commercial Case Study using SoNick batteries

Posted on by Linda

The medical centre was to be refurbished and part of the upgrade was to install a PV system with battery storage. The difficulty was allocating the space for battery storage that was safe for patients as well as staff. As is usual in a medical centre space is a premium and is used for medical related purposes as a priority.

A space was identified under the stairwell as the only realistic place to house the batteries and inverters. This limited the type of battery storage due to both space and safety requirements. Continue reading “Medical Centre – Commercial Case Study using SoNick batteries” →

Why is energy storage pushed as needing an ROI

Posted on by Linda

Why is energy storage pushed as needing an ROI but water tanks are sold to help the environment.

It is interesting that many people looking at battery storage look on it as an investment with a ROI when this philosophy isn’t used for any other household appliances. Nobody ever asks what is the ROI of a fridge or a car.

When water shortages are an issue, people are encouraged to purchase water tanks to supplement water storage supplies, however there is never mention of ROI for these, possibly because if water tanks were purchased to reduce the cost of water rather than to protect the environment they would never pay for themselves. Continue reading “Why is energy storage pushed as needing an ROI” →

GridEdge and the FZSoNick battery

Posted on by Linda

GridEdge is a company that delivers both off grid and on grid energy supply to all levels of consumer demand. 

GridEdge has the Australian and New Zealand distributor rights to the FZSoNick sodium nickel chloride battery which has superior operating capabilities, compared to any other battery technology, currently available. The SoNick battery operates at a wider range of temperatures compared to other batteries and has the advantage of being a non-toxic, environmentally friendly battery that is much more compact, compared to many other batteries set up currently on the market or proposed in the near future. Continue reading “GridEdge and the FZSoNick battery” →

NASA robot catches fire

Posted on by Linda

On June 14, 2016, four researchers at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory were preparing to ship a waist-high, ape-like robot named RoboSimian off-site. The robot had been built to rescue people from dangerous situations that were to difficult for human rescuers. The scientists swapped one lithium-ion battery for a fresh one, then left for lunch to let the new power supply charge.

 

 

Unfortunately, the new lithium ion battery  malfunctioned and went into thermal runaway. Luckily the researchers were no longer in close proximity to the robot so no-one was hurt, although NASA have said there have been a number of these close calls.

A number of attempts were made to put out the fire but eventually the robot was wheeled outside and allowed to burn itself out.
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Climate of the Nation 2017 Australian attitudes on climate change

Posted on by Linda

 

 

  1. Climate Change: The majority of Australians agree that climate change is occurring (71 %) and accept the scientific consensus that human activity is the main cause (57 %).
  2. Action: The majority of Australians want Australia to address climate change because they see strong economic, environmental and social benefits and opportunities in the shift to a clean economy (73 %).

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Redflow welcomes safety-first fire rules for batteries

Posted on by Linda

 

Just like GridEdge’s sodium nickel chloride battery technology Redflow’s flow battery is well suited to Australia’s varying weather conditions and doesn’t have the fire risks that lithium ion batteries do.

Along with GridEdge and many other non-lithium battery companies Australian battery company Redflow Limited (ASX:RFX) has welcomed proposed new regulations that prioritise fire safety for the deployment of lithium-based batteries inside homes. Continue reading “Redflow welcomes safety-first fire rules for batteries” →