Risk minimization for lithium batteries

Langenhagen. Germany. The ever-increasing number of lithium-ion batteries in many industries and applications poses significant challenges for logistics. The risk of spontaneous combustion of these powerful energy sources is high and plays a significant role, especially during storage. Dirk Band, Sales Manager at fire protection specialist WAGNER, is an expert in system-related fire protection in logistics. In order to draw attention to the challenges and point out solutions for fire protection, he will give a presentation entitled "Lithium batteries in high-bay warehouses: minimizing risk by reducing oxygen" at the “Lithium Battery Conference” in Göttingen on January 25 at 9:50 a.m.

Lithium-ion batteries have become an integral part of many aspects of life, such as notebook computers that serve both business and personal needs. They are encouraging people to change their mobility habits and switch from cars to e-bikes, helping themselves and the environment. And the compact energy storage devices can even save lives when used in mobile medical equipment.

But they also present a logistical challenge. For insurers, lithium-ion battery fires have become a typical type of loss; the risk of thermal runaway or spontaneous combustion inherent in the technology is always present and should not be underestimated.

Dirk Band points out: "Have you ever seen how quickly a fire can start a chain reaction? If so, you have a rough idea of the extent of the damage that can occur in a high-bay warehouse with narrow aisles and compact storage of lithium-ion batteries, for example. In a very short time, enormous amounts of value can be destroyed and people can be endangered. The resulting pollutants can have a significant environmental impact. Fires of this kind can mean economic bankruptcy for companies. As you can see, every single fire is one too many - also because of the resulting secondary damage”.

In automated warehouse environments with dense storage, it is therefore very important to prevent fires from starting in the first place. "At WAGNER, we have developed OxyReduct®, a system for active fire prevention. By reducing the oxygen in the protected area using this system, fires can be prevented or their spread reduced under defined conditions. Projects with lithium-ion batteries must of course always be considered individually. Through a large number of fire tests, we have been able to determine that OxyReduct^® can be part of a solution for the storage of these batteries."

One example is a high-bay warehouse at KETTLER Alu-Rad GmbH. Thanks to oxygen reduction, the bicycle manufacturer's most important protection goal for the new high-bay warehouse was achieved, namely to limit the damage in the event of a thermal runaway to the one bicycle affected and to avoid chain reactions. Specific fire tests were conducted to determine the measures to be taken in order to achieve the protection goals in this case. The solution is characterized by the creation of a protective atmosphere with a reduced oxygen content, supplemented by an early fire detection system and defined storage of the boxes on the shelves.

On January 25, Dirk Band will give participants of the “Lithium Battery Conference” an even deeper insight into this individual fire protection solution for lithium-ion batteries. Registration is possible under Events (verkehrsrundschau.de).