Misinformation on EV battery fires uncontained

EV battery fires

I cringe every time I hear a late night television host make a joke about EV battery fires. They are pretty much always overhyped, as if it happens all the time, or simply a lie, like they explode!

They don’t.

Electric vehicle (EV) batteries — the high voltage version — are built in packs with multiple modules and barriers. This can and does make a battery fire difficult to control, but the only way to have a high voltage battery actually explode is to expose all the packs to the atmosphere at the same time, which is pretty much impossible.

For the record, gasoline cars have a single storage tank for the fuel. These can, and do, explode.

In any case, EV technology remains new and any problem encountered, like an actual fire, makes news and we end up seeing an image like the one to the right.

The last time I recall seeing a picture of a gasoline powered car on fire was one in which a famous actor died.

The truth is that studies show that EVs are significantly less likely to catch fire compared to gasoline cars. For example, one study indicated 25 fires per 100,000 EVs sold compared to 1,530 fires per 100,000 gasoline cars (source).

That’s over a 60 times greater risk of a fire in a gasoline powered car! We’re just become very, very comfortable with pouring the flammable liquid into tanks on a daily basis.

Plus, 1,530 fires out of 100,000 cars is still a pretty low risk. The industry, from fuel suppliers to auto manufacturers, have done a very, very good job mitigating the risks.

Sadly those same industries are happy to spread the hype about the perceived dangers of driving an EV.

Please don’t listen to them…

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Technology is always changing and what is current and accurate today may be literally out-of-date and inaccurate tomorrow. And when it comes to the current state of flux in the auto industry, nothing is more true.

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