Battery Fire Safety

Safe New Technologies 

RISE has a long history within fire safety and adapting this knowledge to aid in solving societal transitions and challenges. Our research and testing capabilities have allowed many products to be delivered safely and reliably. One of today's major challenges are batteries. These increasingly common energy sources can become a safety hazard when exposed to harmful environments or if a manufacturing error goes undetected. .

RISE can help you in taking steps towards achieving greater safety levels through abusive testing. This can help you achieve compliance to battery safety standards and implement appropriate mitigation measures. Examples of tests that we offer on cell, module, pack and system levels are:

• Mechanical abuse tests such as nail penetration tests, crush tests, drop tests etc. 
• Thermal propagation tests and evaluating safety systems and fire suppression 
• Electrical abuse tests 
• External fire and heat exposure 
• Analysis of battery gas emissions to quantify toxic and flammable gasses 

Solving Societal Challenges 

Battery failure may undermine their widespread adoption and our transition towards renewable and sustainable fuels. A strong concern relates to  gas emissions, and the release of toxic and flammable gas. Their burning behaviour and potential for this to propagate throughout battery systems due to a local failure, is also a threat. RISE seeks to address these challenges to society and your business. For example, our involvement in research projects together with industry and academia have led to the following notable publications: 

• Willstrand et al. "Impact of different Li-ion cell test conditions on thermal runaway characteristics and gas release measurements"
• Hynynen et al. "Analysis of combustion gases from large-scale electric vehicle fire tests"
• Quant et al. "Ecotoxicity Evaluation of Fire-Extinguishing Water from Large-Scale Battery and Battery Electric Vehicle Fire Tests"
• RISE Report 2023:42, "Electric Vehicle Fire Safety in Enclosed Spaces"
• RISE Report 2023:22, "Investigation of extinguishing water and combustion gases from vehicle fires"
• Huang et al. "A Sensitivity Study of a Thermal Propagation Model in an Automotive Battery Module"
• RISE Report 2022:121, "Modelling thermal runaway initiation and propagation for batteries in dwellings to evaluate tenability conditions"
• RISE Report 2022:47, "BREND 2.0 - Fighting fires in new energy carriers on deck 2.0"
• RISE Report 2021:111, "Lion Fire II - Extinguishment and Mitigation of Fires in Lithium-ion Batteries at Sea"
• RISE-report 2021:26, "From petrol station to multifuel energy station: Changes in fire and explosion safety"
• Lätta elfartyg - Electric Light, Lightweight and electrically propelled Ro-Pax ships
• RISE Report 2020:90,  "Toxic Gases from Fire in Electric Vehicles"
• Bisschop et al. "Handling Lithium-Ion Batteries in Electric Vehicles: Preventing and Recovering from Hazardous Events"
• RISE-report 2020:30, ”Charging of electric cars in parking garages” 
• Sun et al. "A Review of Battery Fires in Electric Vehicles"
• RISE Rapport 8P03983-03, "Fire Suppression Tests for Vehicle Battery Pack"
• RISE rapport 2019:109, "Innovativa elsystem i byggnader: konsekvenser för brandsäkerhet"
• RISE-rapport 2019:98, "Brannrisiko ved lagring av ikke-tilkoblede litium-ion og litiumbatterier",
• RISE Rapport 2019:50, “Fire Safety of Lithium-Ion Batteries in Road Vehicles”
• RISE-rapport 2019:02, “Energieffektive bygg og brannsikkerhet” 
• RISE Rapport 2018:77, "Lion Fire: Extinguishment and mitigation of fires in Li-ion batteries at sea"
• RISE Rapport 2018:42, ”Brandsäker energilagring – Sammanställning av risker och forskningsbehov”
• RISE Rapport 2018:20, ”Study of fire and explosion hazards of alternative fuel vehicles in tunnels”
• C. F. Larsson - Chalmers University of Technology report 2017 “Lithium-ion Battery Safety – Assessment by Abuse Testing, Fluoride Gas Emissions and Fire Propagation”
• SP Rapport 2017:41 “Lithium-ion Batteries used in Electrified Vehicles – General Risk Assessment and Construction Guidelines from a Fire and Gas Release Perspective”
• Larsson et al. “Are electric vehicles safer than combustion engine vehicles?”
• Larsson et al. “Overcurrent Abuse of Primary Prismatic Zinc-Air Battery Cells Studying Air Supply Effects on Performance and Safety Shut-Down"
• Larsson et al. “Toxic fluoride emissions from lithium-ion battery fires”
• SP Rapport 2017:34, ”Safe introduction of battery propulsion at sea”
• Larsson et al. “Lithium-Ion Battery Aspects on Fires in Electrified Vehicles on the Basis of Experimental Abuse Tests”
• SP Report 2017:14, “Risks associated with alternative fuels in road tunnels and underground garages”
• SPFR-rapport A17 20096:03-01, “Fullskala branntest av elbil”
• Larsson et al. “Gas emissions from Lithium-ion battery cells undergoing abuse from external fire”
• SP Report 2016:05, “Full scale fire-test of an electric hybrid bus”
• SPFR-rapport A16 20096-1:1, “Brannsikkerhet og alternative energibærere: El- og gasskjøretøy i innelukkede rom”
• Anderson et al. “Thermal modelling of fire propagation in lithium-ion batteries”
• Larsson et al. “Är elektriska fordon säkrare än fordon med förbränningsmotorer?”
• Andersson et al. “Modelling of thermal events in Lithium-ion batteries”
• C. F. Larsson & B.-E. Mellander, “Abuse by External Heating, Overcharge and Short Circuiting of Commercial Lithium-Ion Battery Cells”
• Larsson et al. “Battery Aspects on Fires in Electrified Vehicles”
• C. F. Larsson, “Assessment of safety characteristics for Li-ion battery cells by abuse testing”
• Anderson et al. “Fire spread due to Thermal Runaway in a Lithium-Ion Battery Cell”
• SP Rapport 2013:58, “e-fordons Potentiella Riskfaktorer vid Trafikskadehändelse”
• SP Report 2013:15, “Investigation of fire emissions from Li-ion batteries”
• Larsson et al. “Are electric vehicles safer than combustion engine vehicles?”
• SP Report 2012:66, “Fire risks associated with batteries”
• Larsson et al. “Energy storage system safety in electrified vehicles”