How to fight an EV fire on ships
As the popularity of EV cars continues to rise, their transportation on cargo ships has become increasingly common. However, several recent incidents on cargo ships carrying electric vehicles, this has raised a critical issue. Due to the lithium batteries inside EV cars, shipping them is not without risk.
Our Fire Isolator concept is there to control such EV car fires and to make sure the situation will not escalate. Backed by thorough research from both researchgate.net and our own live tests, we have developed an advanced method to extinguish electric vehicle fires efficiently, even when cars are parked closely together. Our solution addresses the release of hazardous hydrogen fluoride during an EV car fire caused by burning lithium-ion batteries.
Can you prevent an EV car fire on a ship?
No, there is no way to prevent this from happening. Let’s be very clear about this. Unless you would be able to create an airtight room to store your EVs, this is not possible. However, in the unfortunate event, such a fire does occur on board a cargo ship, it is crucial to be prepared.
With the Fire Isolator concept, you can be.
How to handle an EV fire on a ship
When it comes to controlling an EV fire on ships, water alone is not enough to put out an electric vehicle fire. Once a fire has started in the battery of an EV, you are faced with the so-called ‘Thermal Runaway’. The heat that should be escaping stays inside the battery, keeping the fire alive. This is why it is important to isolate the fire by using a fire blanket. This does not kill the fire in the battery but it does prevent collateral damage. This needs to happen as soon as possible after the fire has been detected.
After the Fire blanket is placed entirely over the car, aerosol units will attempt to interrupt the thermal runaway and suppress (unfortunately not fully extinguish it) the fire to lower the temperature. As a third step in the Fire Isolator concept, the watermist lance will spray a watermist over the blanket, to reduce toxic fumes and smoke and cool down the car further.
These key products make sure the situation does not escalate. We do advise you to keep monitoring the car with a Thermal Imaging camera.
About Fire Isolator
EV fire on ships – Electric vehicle (EV) sales have spiked in the last few years, with significant growth in top auto markets like China, the US, and Europe. The Fire Isolator concept, developed by experts in the European Ferry industry, aims to minimize collateral damage caused by EV car fires. The concept involves isolating the fire to gain valuable time for reaching a safe haven and unloading the vehicle without causing further harm. The tactics have been successfully tested on both combustion engine cars and EVs, offering a promising solution to tackle the potential risks posed by EV car fires.