Lithium Battery Cornered by Fire... Embattled Battery Industry

Monitoring Fire Cause Investigation Closely
"Too Early to Conclude Battery as Cause"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] Battery manufacturers are facing difficulties as the cause of the SK C&C data center fire has been identified as a ‘lithium-ion battery.’ They appear to be worried about the spread of distrust in battery safety alongside electric vehicle fires. In a situation where countries around the world, including the United States, are promoting the battery industry, there is a concern that the domestic battery industry could shrink due to the perception that ‘batteries are dangerous.’

According to the industry on the 21st, the cause of the data center fire is presumed to be the lithium-ion battery of the uninterruptible power supply (UPS). The data center fire investigation team announced that the fire ignition point was investigated around the UPS battery pack, a finished product. This has led to speculation that sparks occurred from the battery.

Lithium-ion batteries have high energy density and high charging efficiency, making them the most widely used secondary batteries. They can be found everywhere in daily life, including in mobile phones, cameras, drones, electric vehicles, and energy storage systems (ESS).

Due to their widespread use, problems also occur. Fire is a representative example. Causes of battery fires include various factors such as manufacturing defects like foreign substance contamination, overcharging/discharging, heating due to external heat, and external impact, so it is important to accurately identify the cause when a fire occurs.

In particular, the UPS where this fire occurred is viewed by the battery industry as having a relatively low risk of fire because it does not frequently charge or discharge. A UPS is a device that allows stable use of electricity when power supply is suddenly interrupted or when voltage or frequency fluctuations occur, and it is a small-scale energy storage system (ESS) made with batteries.

A battery industry official explained, "Because the causes of battery fires are so diverse, fires can occur due to surrounding issues such as the battery management system (BMS) even if there is no problem with the battery itself."

Moreover, SK C&C stated that no abnormal signals were detected from the BMS until 15:19 on the 15th, just before the fire broke out. This means that there were no changes in battery status, voltage, or current, allowing for the interpretation that the battery may not have been the cause of the fire.

The battery industry is closely monitoring the process of identifying the cause of the fire. Fire authorities, the National Forensic Service, and the Korea Electrical Safety Corporation are conducting investigations into the cause of the fire.

Some argue that raising concerns about battery safety without concrete evidence of the fire’s cause should be avoided.

Battery expert Professor Park Cheol-wan of Seojeong University said, "Just because the fire started at the battery, we should not hastily conclude that the battery is the cause of the fire," adding, "This fire is quite different from typical battery fires in that the flames were relatively easy to extinguish, so it is important to wait for the detailed forensic results."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.