The fire hazards associated with BEVs

Abstract

A key development trend in the global automotive industry is electromobility. In 2021, the number of newly registered BEVs (Battery Electric Vehicles) will reach 10.5 million, and their share will rise to nearly 13%. By comparison, 351 thousand such vehicles were sold in 2015, while in 2010 – 7.3 thousand. According to forecasts by the International Energy Agency, by 2030, the zero-emission fleet could grow to 190 million, with 41 million BEVs registered in Europe. The European Union plans that just five years later, from 2035, no new cars and vans with internal combustion engines will be allowed to be registered in any member state. The nascent e-mobility market poses several new challenges and concerns related to, among other things, the fire of electric cars. The design differences between BEVs and their conventional counterparts make it likely that the risk factors affecting fire occurrence, progression, and extinguishment will differ. This article presents the most common causes of BEV fires, the procedure, and recommendations for extinguishing them. The solutions currently used to reduce such vehicles' ignition risk are also presented. From the considerations carried out in this paper, it is clear that fires in all-electric vehicles should be considered incidental, and external factors of an extreme nature most often contribute to their occurrence. Therefore, the correct direction is to disseminate reliable knowledge about the causes of such car fires, the risk of their occurrence, and the principles of fire prevention.