Why in news?
Transport minister Nitin Gadkari has formed a committee to look into cases of battery
explosion in e Vehicles causing the death of people.
E Vehicles
India is trying to adopt extrinsic use of battery-operated vehicles to play a role in reversing
climate change and also reduce crude oil import dependence by moving toward clean
energy.
E Vehicles are mostly operated by Li-ion batteries. Li-ion batteries find application in mobiles, gadgets, watches, etc.
How does an explosion occur?
The explosion occurs mainly due to three kinds of damage:
● Thermal damage: due to overheating
● Mechanical damage: due to impact/accident.
● Electrical damage: due to overcharging
In all of the above three cases, the mixing of fuel, heat, and oxygen causes an explosion.
Why is there an increase in such events?
● Increasing temperatures in summers.
● Careless attitude of people by charging batteries for long hours.
● Cost-cutting by companies results in unsafe and untested Li-ion batteries. Making a
good and safe Li-ion battery requires state of the art technology and is expensive. Eg.
the sensors in the battery that cut off the power supply on 100% charging are not used.
● Use of cheap materials inside battery such as electrode separator of less than 15
microns. There is very less scope for increasing and decreasing the dimensions of a battery
since either the battery will be bulky(if too big) or it will be unsafe (if too small).
