A solution capable of stopping the fire in a few seconds

Lithium batteries are everywhere.

Phones, computers, power tools, vehicles, industrial equipment… They now power a large part of the devices used daily.

But behind this technological revolution lies a very real danger: fires related to lithium-ion batteries.

MAUS conducted an impressive test to verify the effectiveness of a system capable of stopping this type of fire that is particularly difficult to control.

The result could well interest many companies.

Why lithium battery fires are so dangerous

Unlike a conventional fire, a fire caused by a lithium-ion battery has much more complex characteristics.

When a battery suffers damage, overheating, or a short circuit, it can enter a phenomenon called thermal runaway.

From that moment on:

• the temperature rises sharply;
• flammable gases are released;
• the fire can self-sustain;
• extinguishing becomes extremely difficult.

It is precisely this risk that concerns many industrialists today.

A realistic simulation in an industrial environment

In this demonstration conducted at an industrial site in Sweden, the safety team wanted to reproduce a common scenario: a lithium battery charging inside a confined space.

To simulate the accident, the teams placed the battery in a metal cabinet representing a typical storage or charging environment.

The aim was simple: to deliberately cause a battery failure in order to observe the reaction of the protection system.

The test: to deliberately provoke the fire

To trigger the incident, the operators deliberately created a short circuit.

The method used is brutal but effective: a nail and a hammer were used to puncture the battery and cause an immediate internal failure.

The result was instantaneous.

A violent combustion was triggered, replicating a typical lithium-ion fire scenario.

This type of fire is one of the most complex to manage for response teams.

The fire suppression system stopped the spread

At the moment the fire broke out, the installed protection device reacted immediately.

According to the test officials, the system fulfilled its role and allowed for effective control of the incident.

This experimentation demonstrated that early detection and an appropriate device can significantly limit the damage caused by a lithium battery fire.

After the tests, the company decided to equip its entire factory

In light of the results obtained, the company quickly made an important decision.

Safety officials began to deploy this technology directly on their industrial site.

The first installations include:

• the areas where employees charge their portable devices ;
• individual electrical equipment ;
• the large electrical cabinets powering production machines ;
• the critical infrastructures of the industrial site.

The objective is clear: to prevent fire outbreaks before they become uncontrollable.

Lithium batteries represent a new challenge for fire safety

With the explosion in the number of devices equipped with rechargeable batteries, incidents related to lithium-ion batteries are multiplying worldwide.

The problem now concerns :

• individuals ;
• logistics warehouses ;
• factories ;
• electric vehicles ;
• energy storage centres.

More and more experts are warning about the need to adapt traditional fire safety systems to this new technological reality.

A risk still largely underestimated

Most traditional electrical installations were not designed to handle a lithium-ion fire.

However, these batteries are now present everywhere.

This demonstration reminds us of a simple reality: new technologies also require new fire protection strategies.

As lithium batteries invade our daily lives, the question is no longer whether this risk exists…

But whether our infrastructures are truly ready to face it.