I've recently learned that lithium-ion batteries might be a triple threat – Borgia batteries – cherished by eco-royalty, poisonous in theSatellite P750 compatible battery extreme, and explosive enough to wreak havoc in a $25 million laboratory that was built to safely manage battery explosions.
Is it a battery or a WMD?
On April 11th five employees of the advanced battery laboratory at the General Motors (GM) Technical Center in Warren, Michigan were hurt when extreme testing of a prototype lithium-ion battery pack from A123 Systems (AONE) released chemical gases that exploded inside a testing chamber. Four were treated at the scene and one was taken to a local hospital. The injuries were not life threatening.
About 1,100 employees who work in the Warren facility were evacuated while a HAZMAT team spent four hours taking air samples inside and outside the building. While most of the evacuees were able to return to work, it’s unclear how long it will take to repair about $5 million of damage to the battery laboratory and resume operations.
GM quickly advised the media that the incident didn’t involve a battery for the GM Volt and technically there was no battery explosion at all. Engineers were simply conducting extreme overcharge tests on a prototype Satellite P745D compatible battery and it failed, which is exactly what you’d expect.
Or is it?
The fact that there was a battery failure and vented gases ignited doesn’t surprise me. The fact that the explosion was violent enough to cause major structural damage to a purpose-built facility that was designed to safely manage the occasional battery explosion is very troubling. The chemical composition of the gas that allegedly caused the explosion is a nightmare. The terrifying aspect is that these issues are being ignored, or at least swept under the rug, to protect the tarnished image of GM’s Volt.