Free Republic

A massive fire broke out at a French industrial site used for recycling hybrid and electric car batteries on Saturday, sending thick clouds of smoke into the air. The town of Viviez in the department of Aveyron in Southern France was shrouded by black clouds of smoke after a fire broke out at a warehouse used to hold hybrid and electric car lithium batteries. Overall, the site held an estimated 900 tonnes of lithium batteries, however, officials claimed that the cause of the fire has still not been determined, Le Figaro reports.

A large cargo ship carrying lithium batteries which caught on fire has reached Alaska but continues to be held two miles offshore while responders attempt to extinguish the blaze. The 19-strong crew managed to make it to shore with no injuries reported, according to the US Coast Guard. The Genius Star XI was carrying a load of lithium-ion batteries across the Pacific Ocean, from Vietnam to San Diego when the cargo caught on fire, the guard's Alaska district said in a release. The fire started on Christmas Day in cargo hold No. 1, a spokesperson for ship owner Wisdom Marine...

Two big questions (and lots of little ones) are on my mind today. The first big one is, how often is a bill practically unanimous in a state legislature? There’s a bill in California that seeks to ban driverless trucks over 10,000 lbs. Since cargo trucks can usually weigh as much as 80,000 lbs total (that’s counting everything – the vehicle, the cargo, the driver, a full tank of fuel, etc.), this bill covers everything from straight trucks to semi-trailers and similar big rigs. The ban – through at least 2031 – passed the state assembly in Sacramento back in...

An inexpensive, environmentally friendly technique for lithium recycling could help ensure we have enough of the valuable metal to power the clean energy future — if it works as well in the real world as it does in the lab. The challenge: Transitioning to electric vehicles (EVs) is a key part of combating climate change, and because lithium-ion batteries can store a lot of energy for their size, they’re our best option (so far) for powering them. The lithium needed to create those batteries is a finite resource, though, and mining it is environmentally destructive. Demand for lithium extends beyond...

Twenty people were evacuated Wednesday night from Hanegev Street in the northern city of Haifa, after a fire broke out in the courtyard of a residential building, Behadrey Haredim reported. The initial report claimed that the fire was in the building itself, but upon firefighters' arrival at the scene, it became clear that the blaze was in the courtyard, and not in an apartment. Magen David Adom (MDA) paramedics provided medical care to 20 victims. Eighteen of the victims had suffered mild injuries, while the other two were moderately injured, all of them from smoke inhalation. ..... A fire investigator...

Authorities said two recent fires in Blue Springs were both caused by lithium-ion batteries that are commonly found in most homes. No one was hurt in the fires. Rechargeable batteries are found in a variety of products. The fire department said to make sure your smoke detectors work and take action. The pictures show what's left of a Dyson vacuum that caught fire from a third-party battery purchased on Amazon. The fire started in the primary bedroom closet while the family was at home. "They burn at really high heat. It takes a lot of water," said fire Capt. Derrick...

The umbrellas were produced by California-based SunVilla Corp., the news release says. They feature LED lights on the inside arms and a solar panel with a black cover at the top of the umbrella. "The lithium-ion batteries in the umbrella's solar panels can overheat, posing fire and burn hazards," the CPSC said. The umbrellas were sold at Costco warehouses and online for between $130 and $160 from December 2020 through May 2022, the CPSC said.

The Felicity Ace was being towed to land when it began to list to starboard in heavy seas about 250 miles off the Portuguese island chain and took on water in heavy seas, according to the ship's manager. The Portuguese navy confirmed that it sank in a location outside of Portugal's territorial waters that is over two miles deep.

In Finland, an unhappy Tesla owner decided to blow up his Model S after learning it would need a new expensive battery pack. In the video on YouTube with English subtitles, Tuomas Katainen explains his 2013 Model S was in the shop for more than a month for service. When he heard back from the shop, they told him they couldn’t repair his car, and the only option was to change the entire battery cell. Katainen said the fix would’ve cost him upwards of €20,000 ($22,500). He told the dealership that was absurd, and he donated the car to a...

General Motors is recalling tens of thousands of Chevrolet all-electric Bolt hatchbacks for the second time in less than a year because of a potential fire risk. The company made the move on Friday after two Bolts caught fire without impact recently. GM is confirming that at least one of the Bolt fires was battery related and happened despite the owner getting the fix from the first recall. This time, GM said it would recall all 2017-19 model-year Bolts. In total, the recall involves 68,000 vehicles globally; of those, 50,925 are in the United States. The vehicles contain high voltage...

Transitioning to renewable energy across society will require many changes, including more batteries. Energy storage is crucial for making sure that inconsistent renewable sources, like wind or solar, can stay humming even when the weather isn't going their way. But batteries have their own problem in the form of the commonly used lithium. Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras have come up with what could be a possible replacement: a rechargeable iron ion battery that uses mild steel as the anode. “The major limitations of lithium-ion batteries are the unavailability of lithium in conjunction with the safety...

Anyone who has a portable device — including smartphones, tablets, laptops, smartwatches and fitness trackers — is obviously familiar with a lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery because most (if not all) of these devices are powered by this kind of battery. We’ve been okay with the rechargeable for a while, but as lithium-ion batteries are now close to reaching their maximum storage capacity (in other words, battery life can’t be extended any more), and with the horror stories about phone batteries that explode or burn, the search is on for an alternative battery that can meet our demands better and safer. So...

A new mystery has emerged in Flight MH370's disappearance with the Malaysia Airlines saying the lithium ion batteries carried in the plane weighed over 200 kg, even as the cargo manifest released recently listed the "consolidated" consignment at 2.453 tonnes. "About two tonnes, equivalent to 2,453 kg of cargo was declared as consolidated under one master airway bill. This master AWB actually comprised five house AWB. Of these five AWB, two contained lithium ion batteries amounting to a total tonnage volume of 221 kg. The balance three house AWB, amounting to 2,232 kg, were declared as radio accessories and chargers,"...

For more than a decade, scientists have tried to improve lithium-based batteries by replacing the graphite in one terminal with silicon, which can store 10 times more charge. But after just a few charge/discharge cycles, the silicon structure would crack and crumble, rendering the battery useless. Now a team led by materials scientist Yi Cui of Stanford and SLAC has found a solution: a cleverly designed double-walled nanostructure that lasts more than 6,000 cycles, far more than needed by electric vehicles or mobile electronics. “This is a very exciting development toward our goal of creating smaller, lighter and longer-lasting batteries...

A new approach to alkali batteries, in which the cathode is dissolved in water that flows through the system, could overcome the limitations of currently available batteries, scientists in the US say. Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries have revolutionised the mobility of small electronics, but their limited capacity means they don't stretch easily to bigger jobs such as running automobiles or storing power for national grid networks.Ordinarily, lithium ion batteries contain a solid anode, which gives up electrons, and a solid cathode, which receives them. The two are divided by an organic fluid electrolyte. This strategy depends on a cathode that can expand to...

Scientists have generated high resolution images of lithium ions being deposited on a single nanowire anode, revealing how the material grows and flexes in response to charge. The US and Chinese researchers say the technique will help in the development of more advanced battery systems in the future. Lithium ion batteries are widely used, but as they are charged and discharged the anode material inside the batteries undergoes large volume changes, which leads to strain in the material causing it to break up. Nanowire anode materials are able to charge and discharge without this breaking thus prolonging the battery's life, but...

The push for conversion to plug-in electric cars will do nothing to stop carbon emissions, a report by the GAO warns, throwing cold water on a push by Democrats to get more plug-ins on the road. In fact, the problem could be made worse as demand goes up at coal-fired electrical plants. Plus, the need for batteries may just have the US changing the dictators to which we’re chained, as IBD reports...

Alternative Energy: A government report says reliance on electric cars will do little to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and may merely shift our dependence on foreign sources from one set of dictators to another.It's a beautiful theory — highways full of electric cars emitting no greenhouse gases or pollutants after being plugged into an outlet in our garages overnight. The problem, according to a new Government Accountability Office report, is that the effort may only shift the problem somewhere else. "If you are using coal-fired power plants, and half the country's electricity comes from coal-powered plants, are you just trading...

Alternative Energy: A government report says reliance on electric cars will do little to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and may merely shift our dependence on foreign sources from one set of dictators to another..."If you are using coal-fired power plants, and half the country's electricity comes from coal-powered plants, are you just trading one greenhouse gas emitter for another?" asks Mark Gaffigan, co-author of the GAO report. The report itself notes: "Reductions in CO2 emissions depend on generating electricity used to charge the vehicles from lower-emission sources of energy."

Two researchers have developed battery cells that can charge up in less time than it takes to read the first two sentences of this article. The work could eventually produce ultra-fast power packs for everything from laptop computers to electric vehicles. Byoungwoo Kang and Gerbrand Ceder of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge have found a way to get a common lithium compound to release and take up lithium ions in a matter of seconds. The compound, which is already used in the electrodes of some commercial lithium-ion batteries, might lead to laptop batteries capable of charging themselves in...