Electrical automobile fires have made headlines for years now, however within the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, the Class 4 hurricane that brought about 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 larger floor earlier than Helene hit to stop submersion and reduce the chance of fires. Tesla advises homeowners to keep away from letting its automobiles change into submerged, but when it occurs to tow the automobile at the least 50-feet away from something flamable till it may be inspected by a mechanic.
Saltwater poses an particularly critical threat to electrical automobile batteries as a result of salt conducts electrical energy. The Nationwide Freeway Visitors Security Administration (NHTSA) has been researching this phenomenon since EVs began catching hearth following Hurricane Sandy in 2012, however quantifying the difficulty has confirmed difficult. Freshwater flooding in California hasn’t brought about 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 in charge. In line with the Related Press:
Electrical automobiles with lithium ion batteries can catch hearth if the batteries quick circuit and begin to warmth up. Tom Barth with the Nationwide Transportation Security Board stated that if the warmth begins to unfold between completely different cells within the battery again it could trigger a series response known as thermal runaway.
“If the saltwater is ready to bridge the hole between the constructive and unfavorable terminals of battery, then it could trigger a brief circuit,” stated 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 completely 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 stated.
The injury brought on by submerging an EV in saltwater doesn’t disappear as soon as the water recedes. Generally EVs which were submerged in saltwater can catch hearth lengthy after the water evaporates because the 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 hearth. Not each EV that’s submerged will catch hearth, nevertheless it’s essential to heed warnings since EV fires are so troublesome to extinguish. Florida at the moment faces elevated threat of those fires as a result of Hurricane Helene’s storm surge that brought about ocean water to flood some areas as deep as 20 toes. 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 an expert.
