LIB: Lithium Ion Battery, or Lithium Ion Bomb?

 

TOM ARMSTRONG

We regularly see stories about Lithium-Ion Batteries (LIBs) bursting into flames and causing a lot of damage. We mostly hear such stories in relation to cars, EVs, but I was told of in incident recently that really shocked me.

A friend has a few work boats, used to provide inshore services to ports, harbours, marinas and the like. He called me a couple of weeks ago to tell me that one of them had exploded and had suffered serious damage.  The explosion was caused by, as you have guessed, a LIB.

Photos he sent showed extensive damage.  The LIB had been placed outside the engine room (ER), on the other side of the ER bulkhead, or wall. The highly stiffened bulkhead, of 11-12mm thick steel, was deformed several inches inwards into the ER, and all the welding around its periphery had cracked. The extremely highly stiffened structure under the engine was badly buckled, and there were signs that the hull had been deformed. A one-inch-thick teak door on the Bridge had been blown clean off its hinges and could not be found. All the windows were gone.

People five mile away reported the explosion.

There was, strangely enough, no significant fire or heat damage, but the explosion was obviously a major one. The boat’s insurers have declared the boat, valued at almost a million pounds all in, a constructive total loss, meaning it is beyond economic repair.

No doubt most of you will be thinking, like I did, that it must have been one hell of a big battery. I assumed it was used to start the engine. But no. Not at all. It was one of these.

Yes, folk it was a small battery, for a hand-held cordless tool, like those used in countless hand drill, impact wrenches, small chain saws, garden strimmers and the like, which many people keep in their homes.

I don’t have much detail of the actual battery, but I’m told it had a rating of 0.72kWh, which may be wrong as it seems too high. However, the important thing to know about these batteries is that they can give off dangerous vapour in the range of 500 – 6,000 ltr/per kWh, and that vapour can be up to fifty percent hydrogen, with the rest made up of carbon monoxide, methane, ethane, hydrofluoric and hydrochloric acids, and hydrogen cyanide.

If the battery was 0.72 kWh, then it could have produced between 360 to 4,000 litres of vapour, around half of which could have been hydrogen.

One of the characteristics of a hydrogen vapour is that it is so easily ignited, a few millijoules of energy, such as would be generated by dropping a 5p coin from waste height. And then bang.  A very big bang.

Here’s a very short video of a test on a LIB, showing the power of an explosion.

The technical term for this bloody big bang is an unconfined vapour cloud explosion, a dramatic phenomenon that generates a severe pressure wave with a high potential to damage. You don’t want to be close when one goes off.

Fortunately for my mate, the explosion occurred out of working hours. A few hours either way and it could have killed him.  The explosion can generate jet flames of around 1,200°C.

Digging around a bit, LIB’s can degrade because of a manufacturing defect, overheating, incorrect charging or an internal short circuit. Certainly, if you have one that gets very hot, or starts to bulge, dump it quickly and steer clear of it. Another sign that the battery is thinking of going bang is if it discharges too quickly. Lithium-ion battery fires are difficult to put out. Bigger batteries, such as those used in electric vehicles, may reignite hours or even days after the event, even after being cooled.

 

Information is hard to come by, especially in regard to cordless hand tools, but current data suggests that in 2023, there were 338 LIB fires on e-bikes, and e-scooters alone, and that discarded LIB batteries are responsible for an estimated 201 fires a year.

Another source thought that the number of fires linked to lithium-ion batteries in the UK increased by 46 per cent in 2023, compared with the previous year, and that batteries powering electric vehicles such as e-bikes, e-scooters and electric cars were responsible for almost three fires a day last year. That same source said “The UK Government needs to impose more stringent safety requirements to reduce fire frequency. Increasing awareness of proper maintenance, storage and disposal of lithium-ion batteries is paramount to protecting people and property.”

I have spoken to people I know who deal with such incidents, and while nobody would speak on the record, my strong impression is that they had advised the authorities, who have done little or nothing to protect the public. One said that he thought it was because of the NetZero-driven drive to electrification and, that if a diesel- or petrol-powered hand tool was as prone to explosion, they’d be banned in a flash.

This is pure speculation of course, but doesn’t it have the ring of truth?

Explosions of LIBs on hand tools are still uncommon, but more common than we would hope, and are likely to become more so, as the switch to battery-powered equipment accelerates. All I can advise is not to keep them in the house and look out for overheating and bulging.

Good luck!

And to end, here’s a couple of short videos showing that you just might need it.

Inferno at Scottish battery recycling plant where lithium-ion batteries were being stored; when will they learn?

RHODA WILSON

Last week, an enormous fire broke out at the Fenix Battery Recycling plant in Kilwinning, Ayrshire, Scotland. In 2021, Fenix joined with Eco Recovery to recycle lithium-ion batteries from eScooters, electric mopeds and eBikes. 

Plumes of smoke could be seen as far as 10 miles away as the Fenix plant went up in a blaze on 9 April.  Loud banging noises could be heard as far away as neighbouring towns Irvine and Stevenston as thousands of batteries exploded.

Police said that people had been hit with flying batteries. Residents were warned to stay indoors and keep all windows and vents closed due to the overpowering smoke. Some nearby properties were evacuated as a precautionary measure.

The blaze was eventually extinguished, and firefighters left the scene more than a week after the fire first broke out, Hazardex reported on Monday.  An investigation into the cause of the fire is still to be carried out.

Almost exactly a year before, there had been a similar massive blaze at the plant, which raged on for four days.  An investigation into this incident found the blaze was likely caused by “leakage leading to combustion.”

Following the 2024 incident, two enforcement notices were served on Fenix to remove waste batteries that had been on the site for longer than six months.  It is not known whether Fenix had complied with the Enforcement Notices by the time of the second fire and explosions on 9 April 2025 but it appears they did not, according to a local resident.

The Scottish Sun, reporting on the 2025 incident, quoted a resident who lives next door to the plant as saying, “Basically, that Fenix lot moved out and washed their hands of it, so there’s been 50-60 barrels of batteries sitting there with no one stepping up to clear them away. It’s a disgrace. It was a disaster waiting to happen.”

Although there is no mention of lithium-ion batteries among the “barrels of batteries” on the site, what is the probability that there were?

The Fenix plant recycled a variety of battery types, including lithium-ion, alkaline and NiCad batteries.  In 2021, Fenix Battery Recycling partnered with Eco Recover to set up a recycling scheme for Personal Electric Vehicle (“PEV”) batteries across the UK and Ireland. “A pilot scheme is running in the South West and will be rolled out across the UK,” Circular Online reported at the time.

Eco Recover is a division of EcoMove, an electric bike, scooter and moped business based in Bristol.  At the time when the new scheme with Fenix was announced,  batteries from eScooters, electric mopeds and eBikes had to be exported to the USA or Europe for recycling.

“By 2025, it’s estimated that there will be 4 million eScooters, 12,000 electric mopeds and 350,000 eBikes on the market, resulting in catastrophic numbers of lithium-ion batteries going to landfill.  The new scheme aims to increase the number of batteries recycled in the UK and make lithium-ion battery recycling cleaner and more sustainable, Circular Online said. “Fenix are the only UK-based lithium-ion battery recycling facility.”

Lithium-ion batteries are well known for their combustible nature; many examples of these batteries suddenly bursting into flames have been widely shared on social media and in the corporate press over the years. Completely missing the irony, Circular Online went on to say, “all of the collections carried out by Eco Recover will be done using 100% electric vehicles, further minimising their contribution to carbon emissions.”

What will Eco Recover do with the batteries in the “100% electric vehicles” when they need replacing, after running the gauntlet of whether the batteries will self-combust while in use? Will they end up being stored at a recycling plant, shipped overseas or in a landfill?

For those who need reminding about the hazards of lithium-ion batteries, below we have republished a 2024 article by Dr. Matthew M. Wielicki, an “Earth science professor-in-exile.”  Please note that some of Wielicki’s article is behind a paywall, so we have only republished the portion that is free to read.  At the end of his article, we have added links to previous articles we have published that highlight the dangers and risks associated with batteries being used in “green,” “eco-friendly” initiatives as an excuse to “reduce carbon emissions.”

The Fiery Reality of Lithium

By Dr. Matthew Wielicki, 31 October 2024

On October 27, 2024, a lithium battery recycling plant in Fredericktown, Missouri, erupted in flames, sending smoke billowing across the town. Early reports from ABC7 Chicago indicated that, fortunately, no workers were seriously injured. However, thick smoke forced evacuations in nearby neighbourhoods and raised major concerns about the pollutants released by such fires.

This incident occurred just days after another lithium-ion battery-related tragedy in Belmont, New York, where a fire, reportedly triggered by a battery explosion, killed one man and seriously injured another. According to News12, the Belmont incident led to a large emergency response, underscoring the clear dangers associated with lithium-ion batteries, technology often touted as essential to the “clean energy” movement despite its inherent instability and risk of thermal runaway.

With battery-based energy storage expected to expand dramatically in the coming decades, thermal runaway is more than a fluke danger; it’s an intrinsic risk. This hazard needs to be fully understood before we place these power plants, and potential chemical bombs, near densely populated areas.

Let’s break down how we got here, why lithium-ion batteries rose to dominance, and how the reality of thermal runaway casts a shadow on a battery-powered future.

A Brief History of Batteries and the Reign of Lithium-Ion

The concept of batteries traces back over 200 years to Alessandro Volta, who created the first device capable of producing a continuous electric current. Volta’s voltaic pile gave birth to the concept of energy storage, eventually leading to batteries that could store and release electricity efficiently. In the 20th century, the electrochemical storage market expanded with the development of lead-acid batteries, which became widely used in vehicles, and nickel-cadmium (NiCd) batteries, a lightweight, rechargeable option used in early consumer electronics.

Despite these advancements, batteries remained clunky and inefficient by today’s standards. Then came the lithium-ion battery in the 1990s: a lightweight, energy-dense alternative that fundamentally changed our approach to energy storage. Lithium-ion cells have since become ubiquitous, powering everything from smartphones to electric vehicles and industrial power grids.

Their compact size, high energy density and rechargeable nature have made them essential to our battery-powered world. But these benefits come with a cost: the unstable chemistry of lithium-ion cells makes them prone to thermal runaway, a reaction that can lead to fires, explosions and toxic emissions.

What Exactly Is Thermal Runaway? [The remainder of Wielicki’s article is behind a paywall.  Suffice to say: Thermal runaway is a process where an increase in temperature leads to further temperature increases, often resulting in destructive outcomes.  In the context of lithium-ion batteries, thermal runaway is a critical safety concern.  It can be triggered by internal failures of batteries, such as defects in the separator that cause an internal short circuit.  External factors like mechanical damage, external heat, overcharging, or short circuits can also initiate thermal runaway.   Once initiated, thermal runaway can be very difficult to stop and can lead to extremely high temperatures, violent cell venting, smoke and fire.]

Related:

• London’s spontaneous bus combustion: How is this being allowed to happen?
• Norwegian Shipping Company bans electric vehicles on its vessels
• We’re in a worldwide lithium battery fire epidemic
• Battery storage for solar farms poses a growing threat of catastrophic and uncontrollable fires
• World’s largest battery storage facility for power from solar panels burns and poisons nature reserve

Featured image: Battery explosion firm was blocked from operating at English HQ after damning report, The Daily Record, 12 April 2025

••••

The Liberty Beacon Project is now expanding at a near exponential rate, and for this we are grateful and excited! But we must also be practical. For 7 years we have not asked for any donations, and have built this project with our own funds as we grew. We are now experiencing ever increasing growing pains due to the large number of websites and projects we represent. So we have just installed donation buttons on our websites and ask that you consider this when you visit them. Nothing is too small. We thank you for all your support and your considerations … (TLB)

••••

Comment Policy: As a privately owned web site, we reserve the right to remove comments that contain spam, advertising, vulgarity, threats of violence, racism, or personal/abusive attacks on other users. This also applies to trolling, the use of more than one alias, or just intentional mischief. Enforcement of this policy is at the discretion of this websites administrators. Repeat offenders may be blocked or permanently banned without prior warning.

••••

Disclaimer: TLB websites contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of “fair use” in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, health, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than “fair use” you must request permission from the copyright owner.

••••

Disclaimer: The information and opinions shared are for informational purposes only including, but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material are not intended as medical advice or instruction. Nothing mentioned is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Liberty Beacon Project.