The problem with lithium batteries “This process can be triggered by a battery overheating, by a flat tire, or by an electrical fault, such as a short circuit,” Khoo said. A number of conditions can occur that cause battery failures and, eventually, fires. Low-quality components and manufacturing defects continue to be a major cause of battery failure. Keeping batteries exposed to heat sources can be extremely dangerous, as it could cause an explosion.
Another less common reason may be battery penetration, which can cause a short circuit and eventually a fire. In addition, high-voltage charging or excessive discharging damage the package. And the same is true with the use of chargers that are not recommended or poorly isolated. Before wondering why batteries catch fire, it's important to understand how they work.
Lithium ions move from one electrode to another when electrical energy comes from the battery. When a lithium-ion battery is charged, lithium-ion is propelled by electricity from the cathode, through microperforations in the separator and an electrically conductive fluid, to the anode. Unlike standard alkaline batteries, lithium-ion batteries can be used over and over again, so they can be found in many household electronics. Battery Solution Lithium-ion Battery Lithium Polymer Battery LiFePO4 Battery 18650 Rechargeable Battery Pack 3.7V Lipo Battery Pack 12V Rechargeable Battery Pack 12 V Rechargeable Battery Pack Custom Medical Battery Pack 18650 Battery Pack Calculator.
First of all, it's good practice to ensure that the place where you store your batteries isn't exposed to high temperatures. With a wide range of application areas, from smartphones to electric cars (EVs) and even the International Space Station, lithium-ion batteries are compatible with all of them. Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, the type of battery found inside your laptop, phone, tablet and pretty much every other modern device you own, as well as electric cars and airplanes, are responsible for the portable device revolution. To understand why lithium-ion batteries sometimes fail, you need to know what's going on under the hood.
Lithium-ion cells also self-discharge when batteries lose their stored charge if the electrodes or the external circuit are not connected. When the battery is discharged, the opposite happens with the lithium ions flowing from the anode to the cathode. While examining why batteries sometimes fail paints a frightening picture, lithium-ion batteries are a safe and mature technology. What makes lithium-ion batteries so useful is what also gives them the ability to catch fire or explode.
Lithium-ion batteries are constructed in such a way that the three main conditions of a fire (oxygen, fuel and heat) can be met. Now that we've established that, under the right conditions, lithium-ion batteries can provide a good environment for a fire, let's see why they occur. Technically, a lithium-ion battery stores and releases its electrical energy through electrochemical reactions.
