Lithium-Ion Batteries Overheated in Mitsubishi Vehicles

[Doug_G]

Design News - News - Lithium-Ion Batteries Overheated in Mitsubishi Vehicles

In yet another setback for lithium-ion battery technology, Mitsubishi Motors has acknowledged that it recently had a fire and an overheating incident involving the high-energy batteries.

The automaker reported early Wednesday that a lithium-ion battery pack intended for the Mitsubishi i-MiEV caught fire while connected to a charge/discharge testing station at a Mitsubishi plant in Okayama Prefecture. In a separate incident, a charged lithium-ion battery installed in an Outlander plug-in hybrid overheated, melting battery cells and part of the battery pack.

”A single one of the 80 cells within the battery pack was overheated, melting adjacent cells,” a Mitsubishi spokesman told Design News in an email. “The 80 cells within the battery pack are divided and set into ‘three blocks’ within the drive battery pack. Examination found that only one of the three blocks sustained any damage.”

Batteries for both of the vehicles were manufactured by a joint venture involving Mitsubishi and GS Yuasa Corp., the company that made the batteries now being used in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. GS Yuasa did not respond to calls or emails from Design News.

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Laslau said he expects automakers and other users to optimize their lithium-ion chemistries to create a better combination of energy, reliability, cost, and safety. “They might end up being more costly; they might weigh a little more, or they might be a little bit bigger,” he told us. “But these incidents can’t just keep happening.”

I dunno, it seems to me that the fire was contained and the vehicle did not burn. And compare that to 100,000 gasoline vehicle fires a year. Seems to me that LiIon is ahead of the game...

 

[brianman]

After hearing of such trials and tribulations of non-Tesla battery vehicles, I once again have to tip my hat in appreciation to Roadster owners for supporting Tesla in learning how to make the Model S (and beyond) for me and others.

 

[scriptacus]

And compare that to 100,000 gasoline vehicle fires a year. Seems to me that LiIon is ahead of the game...

Technically that depends on the number of EV fires / number of EVs. About 0.04% of gas vehicles catch fire each year.

Edit: Fixed math

 

[Doug_G]

Technically that depends on the number of EV fires / number of EVs. About 0.0004% of gas vehicles catch fire each year.

Your math is way off. 254 million cars, 100,000 fires = .04%.

 

[hcsharp]

Your math is way off. 254 million cars, 100,000 fires = .04%.

Yes but your data is way off. In the US alone there are more than 250,000 gasoline vehicle fires per year on average. The vast majority of those are not caused by accidents, but rather electrical or mechanical problems, mostly mechanical. In the vast majority of cases it was gasoline that first caught fire when ignited by something else. I got this data from a link provided by Bob Lutz when he wrote his article "Chevy Volt and the Wrong-Headed Right"

Tesla's battery design is inherently safer than most other manufacturers for several reasons. First, it's compartmentalized so if you drive a steel rod through the ESS, it wouldn't catch the whole thing on fire. Only the brick(s) that were pierced would have a possibility of burning. This is another reason why it's safer than a gas tank. Second, it's liquid cooled and heated unlike Mitsu, Nissan, and Ford offerings. It's a lot harder to catch something on fire if it's surrounded by coolant than if it's surrounded by air. A tesla costs more. You get what you pay for.

 

[Dave EV]

One interesting factor is that these Mitsubishi batteries are supplied by GS Yuasa, and the failure of these batteries seems to be very similar to what happened to the affected 787 batteries...

 

[ggies07]

After hearing of such trials and tribulations of non-Tesla battery vehicles, I once again have to tip my hat in appreciation to Roadster owners for supporting Tesla in learning how to make the Model S (and beyond) for me and others.

Yesir!

 

[DuncanWatson]

Only the brick(s) that were pierced would have a possibility of burning. This is another reason why it's safer than a gas tank. Second, it's liquid cooled and heated unlike Mitsu, Nissan, and Ford offerings. It's a lot harder to catch something on fire if it's surrounded by coolant than if it's surrounded by air. A tesla costs more. You get what you pay for.

Actually the Ford Focus Electric[SUP]1[/SUP] is liquid cooled and heated. Mitsubishi and Nissan are not.

edit: added citation

 

[hcsharp]

Actually the Ford Focus Electric[SUP]1[/SUP] is liquid cooled and heated. Mitsubishi and Nissan are not.

edit: added citation

I stand corrected. Thank you. I was told by an owner in CA that his car was air cooled, just like his wife's Leaf. That means it might work in Vermont.

When Toyota announced they wouldn't market the e-Rav4 outside of CA, I went to the local Ford dealer and told him it was his chance to beat Toyota to a good market (I knew the owner). He said "Nope. We already have a hard time selling Lincoln, which goes for about the same price. Why do you think I could sell the F F Electric?" He went on to explain that Ford requires a dedicated bay in the dealer's shop just for the FFE. To meet the requirements he would have to add a new bay and invest about 200k in new equipment and train at least 2 of his tech staff and hope they don't leave. He basically said Ford made it so hard for him to sell that car that I shouldn't expect to see it any time soon. Not sure if what he said is true or not.

 

[DuncanWatson]

The FFE was designed to work in Detroit which has pretty nasty winters. Nastier than parts of Vermont and Maine.

I can't speak to dealers though that kind of crap is why Tesla is going to do well going around the dealers. Ford does seem to be avoiding pushing and supporting the FFE well. The CMax Energi and Fusion Energi are getting more attention from Ford. I love my FFE and since I was able to get it on a $199/Month lease deal I am happy.

The Mitsubishi and Nissan design decision to go without temperature controlled battery systems is a mistake in my mind. I am glad both Tesla and Ford have it. It is too bad the Toyota Rav4 EV isn't available outside of California.
djw