There are a number of causes of lithium-ion battery fires
The diagram below shows why thermal runaway can occur as a result of a damaged or compromised Li-ion battery.
What is thermal runaway?
Thermal runaway is the chemical process within the battery that produces heat and chemical gases very quickly before any flame appears.
These gases are not something you would want to be exposed to.
They are vented from the cells as a vapour cloud.
- Carbon monoxide
- Carbon dioxide
- Hydrogen fluoride
- Hydrogen chloride
- Sulphur dioxide
- Hydrocarbons such as ethane, methane, butane, hydrogen cyanide
Find out more by reading our blogs about lithium-ion batteries.