Rivian Vehicles Catch Fire In Parking Lot, Could It Be Time To Embrace LFP Batteries?
Electric vehicle maker Rivian encountered some bad luck last Saturday at its Illinois facility parking lot. As reported by 25News, several of its vehicles caught fire and the fire department had to be dispatched to put it out. There were no reported injuries, and the assembly plant wasn’t affected either.
The exact cause of said fire remains unknown, however a Rivian spokesperson says investigations are underway to get to the root cause of the catastrophe. That said, we don’t know what caused the problem at Rivian’s parking lot and will reserve judgement until the full report is published.
But stories like this are not uncommon, especially where EVs are concerned. A Thermal runaway is a serious failure in an EV battery pack that could result in the entire car being engulfed in flames that could then take several hours to put out.
Thermal runaway is a term used to describe the uncontrollable rise in temperature of lithium-ion batteries. If left unchecked the problem affects adjacent cells as well, which eventually results in the entire vehicle catching fire, then being reduced to a pile of molten metal.
There are several reasons why thermal runaway happens, which may include temperature issues, charging problems, improper wiring, defects as well as several other lesser-known ones. They could cause a short circuit within a cell that makes it heat up significantly to a point where it bursts, shooting flames though the punctured area.
And it’s a problem that has affected electric vehicles from several manufacturers. This is why companies like BYD are touting their use of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries instead of the traditional ones used by most automakers.
LFP have much lower risk of overheating and catching fire, which means they are less likely to experience thermal runaway. BYD went even further by subjecting their batteries to various durability tests to prove how safe they are for general consumers.
A battery pack survived having a 46-ton truck roll over it without any damage. BYD says that from its work, its LFP has a high starting temperature for exothermic reactions, slow heat release and low heat generation. It can also withstand three thousand charge and discharge cycles without degradation.
This equates to many years of usage before you notice a drop in charge capacity. It also supports fast charging technology that enables it to be charged from 10% to 80% charge in just 10 minutes when used with compatible fast charging infrastructure.
Despite its relative advantages, LFP batteries have lower energy density, lower tolerance to cold temperature and slower discharge rate compared to more traditional lithium-ion batteries. However, they perform well enough that they are being considered by many as the suitable next step to make EVs safer.
