Bharati Fire Engineers launches FireFite Lithex towards battery fire safety
MUMBAI, Electric vehicle fires have gotten increasingly common and are becoming the most watched news for that week. Electric vehicle safety has become a major concern with EV manufactures and prospective buyers, as we see the world transitioning towards electric modes of transport as the most preferred medium.
India’s Readiness to Combat Electric Vehicle Fires Amidst This Growing EV Industry
It remains to be seen if the efforts of the government and EV manufactures in India are really enough to control the real cause of EV fires
Since last two years, EV fire incidents have forced EV manufacturing giants in India to take safety issues seriously and on priority. Due to aforementioned incidents, the government is enforcing the provision of safety mechanisms; usage of fire protection products; change in testing standards for batteries, battery management and cells, given that the battery was one of the main reasons for previous fire occurrences.
These fires are distinct from regular automotive fires, as they involve thermal runaway within the battery cells. The chain reaction is triggered when a cell or region inside the battery reaches high temperatures due to thermal or mechanical failure; short circuiting; or electrochemical abuse. This process releases more than 40 hazardous poisonous gases under high pressure, leading to multiple explosions within no time.
Extinguishing lithium battery fires is a serious concern as it may take up gallons of water to put off one battery pack fire. In the light of this serious hazard, Bharati Fire Engineers, a Mumbai based 50-year-old fire expert firm, claims to have come up with a product called FireFite Lithex, towards battery fire safety.
In the statement provided to press, Jai Gosar, CEO, Bharati Fire Engineers, remarked, “The FireFite Lithex Extinguisher specializes in putting out battery fires and metal fires, as normal extinguishers fail to extinguish the lithium battery fires.”
He further added, “It employs a brand-new technology in collaboration with AVD , UK, called aqueous vermiculite dispersion (AVD), a fire-extinguishing solution that uses both fixed and mobile delivery methods to successfully put out lithium-ion battery fires. This product has been used by national research and development organisations like DRDO, CFEES along with EV manufactures like TATA, Ola and is proven to be successful.”
Under the progressive Make In India policy, Bharati Fire Engineers manufacture this product in India with the ISI mark, after a UK-based corporation patented it.
