Lithiumion batteries are an essential component in electric vehicles, however their safety remains a key challenge. This video explores the science behind what happens when batteries are abused and when then fail.

00:00 Introduction
00:08 What happens when batteries go wrong?
00:48 Types of battery abuse
02:12 Mechanical abuse
03:34 Nail penetration test
04:25 What happens during overcharge
05:44 What happens during overdischarge
07:17 The various stages of thermal abuse
08:48 Energy release during thermal runaway
12:09 Summary

Interested in learning more?
Here are some books which I recommend to learn more about the history of batteries and how they've impacted the world
Volt Rush: The Winners and Losers in the Race to Go Green Henry Sanderson https://amzn.to/4aa81te (Amazon)
The Powerhouse: America, China, and the Great Battery War Steve LeVine https://amzn.to/44O37kR (Amazon)
Climate Capitalism: Winning the Global Race to Zero Emissions Akshat Rathi https://amzn.to/3JWmy0Q (Amazon)

#battery #fire #thermalrunaway #overcharging

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Key resources
Battery fire video GeniusPyroBubbles    • Lithium ion cells fail uncontrolled a...  
Battery xray nail penetration video Donal Finegan    • Highspeed Xray imaging: Nail penetr...  
Thermal runaway mechanism of lithium ion battery for electric vehicles: A review. X. Feng et al. Energy Storage Materials 10 (2018) 246–267 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science...
An electrochemicalthermal coupled overchargetothermalrunaway model for lithiumion battery. Ren et al. Journal of Power Sources. 2017, 364, 328340 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science...
Progress of enhancing the safety of lithium ion battery from the electrolyte aspect. Wang et al. Nano Energy 2018; 55 :93–114 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science...