Tesla triggers audible alarms on the safety of electric car batteries

(Bloomberg) – Electric vehicles may be less likely to ignite than energy consumers, but recent outbreaks involving Tesla Inc. and NIO Inc. cars in Greater China are prompting the sector to take action. measures to address the concerns of potential customers among the largest in the market sector.

Concerns grew after the announcement of a fire involving a Tesla in a Hong Kong parking lot. A few weeks earlier, a video on Chinese social networks showed a burning Tesla in a Shanghai garage. Meanwhile, NIO announced last month that one of its ES8 vehicles had caught fire in Xi'an City, in the north-west of the country, while it was being repaired.

"The burning of batteries is a very serious incident for consumers. This could lead to their aversion to electric vehicles, "said Automotive Energy Supply Corp., whose batteries power about 430,000 Nissan Motor Co. vehicles, in an email. "We are determined not to cause serious accidents and cause damage to the industry, and we believe that it is now more important to act with caution."

There is something to worry about. If Chinese consumers slow down their switch to plug-ins for security reasons, it would be a blow because the nation accounts for more than half of global sales of electric cars. While China is expected to remain the most important market over the next two decades, sales are already slowing and growth is expected to continue to slow down until 2021 as the government scraps subsidies, according to BloombergNEF.

In response to the latest incident, Tesla launches a live software update for two of its vehicles, including the flagship model, to enhance battery safety and battery life while continuing to research the cause. from the Hong Kong fire. The action will change charging and thermal management parameters "for caution," the company said in a statement, adding that its models were 10 times less likely to suffer a fire than cars equipped with combustion engines.

Early results from the Hong Kong incident showed that only a few battery modules – smaller clusters of cells – were affected and most of the car's battery was undamaged, Tesla said. The Hong Kong Transport Department said it had close relations with Tesla during the May 12 and Shanghai incidents, given the similarity of cases.

Panasonic Corp., which manufactures Tesla batteries, does not specifically address fires in an email. "We are working with car manufacturers to develop better battery systems while making safety our top priority," he said.

For an electric vehicle, the risk of fire or explosion is comparable – or potentially slightly lower – than that of gas or diesel models, according to a report published in 2017 by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The study reveals that security risks can increase as manufacturers work to improve performance and push battery cells closer to their limits.

Recent incidents were not unprecedented. In 2018, China has registered at least 40 cases related to fires involving new energy vehicles – a category that includes pure electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles and fuel cells – according to the Administration of China. State for the regulation of the market.

The electric car sector is facing the challenges of quality control, improved performance and increased capacity to meet the growing demand for batteries, said Simon Moores, general manager of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, an industry consultant. The BNEF estimates that the demand for lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles will increase by more than 10 times by 2030, while prices will continue to fall.

The rapid growth means that the sector "will no doubt see more and more quality control issues in the supply chain," said Moores. "The biggest challenge for all EV manufacturers is to ensure the quality and consistency of the entire supply chain – from raw materials to chemicals to battery cells – and in the package and the vehicle. "

Although recent fires are negative for automakers, the impact on sales will likely be limited, said Toliver Ma, Hong Kong-based analyst at Guotai Junan Securities Co.

"Tesla and NIO have built up a broad base of fans and should be able to minimize the impact," Ma said.

These are not just cars. A series of at least 21 fires in energy storage projects in South Korea between August 2017 and February, as well as a fire in an Arizona plant last month have raised concerns about the safety of lithium-ion batteries. As a result, the Korean Reinsurance Co. has almost tripled its rate for local storage projects, while new deployments in the country this year could represent about half of those of 2018, according to the BNEF.

The story continues