That's a very good question, especially considering that lithium ion batteries are making their way into electric vehicles:
http://spectrum.ieee.org/green-tech/advanced-cars/lithium-batteries-for-hybrid-cars The potential safety issue seems to be downplayed by the last paragraph in the above-linked article, at least to me. I'd hate to be behind the wheel of an EV, with my kids in the back seat, when a large lithium ion battery pack starts to go into thermal runaway. Scott Aldous Compliance Engineer AE Solar Energy From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of [email protected] Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2012 8:23 AM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: Thermal Protection of Lithium Ion Batteries Forgot to ask - I believe current Standards require thermal protection, but are they enough? John Allen President Product Safety Consulting, Inc. 605 Country Club Drive, Suites I & J Bensenville, IL 60106 P - 630 238-0188 / F - 630 238-0269 1-877-804-3066 [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> http://www.productsafetyinc.com<http://www.productsafetyinc.com/> Although PSC maintains the highest level of virus protection, this e-mail and any attachments should be scanned by your virus protection software. It is the responsibility of the recipient to check that it is virus free. PSC does not accept any responsibility for data loss or systems damage arising in any way from its use. This message is confidential and intended only for the individual to whom or entity to which it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient or addressee, or an employee or agent responsible for delivering this message to the addressee, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying, in whole or part, of this message is strictly prohibited. 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From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2012 9:18 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [PSES] Thermal Protection of Lithium Ion Batteries Interesting article and findings by John Hopkins University... http://gazette.jhu.edu/2012/01/09/discovery-warns-of-catastrophic-failure-of-lithium-ion-batteries/ John Allen Product Safety Consulting, Inc. 605 Country Club Drive, Suites I & J Bensenville, IL 60106 P - 630 238-0188 / F - 630 238-0269 1-877-804-3066 [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> http://www.productsafetyinc.com<http://www.productsafetyinc.com/> IEEE PSES - http://ewh.ieee.org/soc/pses/ IEEE PSES Chicago - http://ewh.ieee.org/r4/chicago/pstc/ IEEE PSES Risk Assessment Technical Committee - http://ewh.ieee.org/soc/pses/TAC/RATC/index.html Although PSC maintains the highest level of virus protection, this e-mail and any attachments should be scanned by your virus protection software. 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