Do electric car batteries explode?
As electric vehicles (EVs) become more cpmmon, they're raising plenty of questions and generating a few rumours - such as whether their batteries could catch fire or even explode.
Let's go back a bit. How do batteries actually work? Batteries perform a chemical reaction which releases energy in the form of electrons - or stores energy by putting electrons back in. The electrons flow through a circuit, allowing electricity to power your machine. But something else has to move through the battery to balance the electrons zooming through the circuit.
An EV battery uses lithium to do this job, which can store more energy by weight than many other materials (such as the lead used in a lead-acid battery). In cars, energy density is extra important – both so you're not lugging around too much weight, and so you can still fit a passenger or three in the car with you.
But lithium has its problems, including thermal runaway. The chemical reactions inside the battery, which make it work, can get out of hand, causing localised heating that can trigger a more significant event – such as catching fire.
However, it doesn't happen all that often, according to firefighter Emma Sutcliffe from EV FireSafe.
It's a bit of myth doing the rounds on social media that electric vehicles catch fire all the time,“
