The town of Viviez in Aveyron in France has just seen a lithium battery storage and recycling installation erupt in flames, igniting more fears about the dangers of these batteries. Lithium batteries are of course absolutely fundamental to plans to decarbonise the economy. The Mail has the story:
A warehouse storing 900 tons of lithium batteries waiting to be recycled went up in flames this afternoon, amid growing fears over their dangers.
The fire in France occurred at a storehouse in the town in Viviez in Aveyron, and residents were told to stay indoors by authorities.
While the cause of the fire has yet to be confirmed, it took 70 firefighters to get the flames under control.
Lithium batteries, found in e-scooters, are the fastest growing fire risk in London, with the London Fire Brigade called to an e-bike or scooter fire once every two days on average last year.
The fire in France has once again raised questions around the use and safety concerning the batteries.
Not surprisingly, the conflagration has sparked concerns in Britain, and especially Buckinghamshire:
Jean-Louis Denoit, the Mayor of Viviez, called the fire “shocking” and told French news outlet BFMTV: “There is indeed reason to ask questions about the function of electric vehicles and lithium batteries.”
The fire comes amid proposals in the U.K. to build one of Europe’s largest battery storage sites in Buckinghamshire [which have] been met with fierce criticism.
More than 200 residents have lodged objections to Statera Energy’s plans to construct the 500 megawatt facility on fields at Rookery Farm.
The developers have planned to “strip the topsoil” and build 888 full-sized shipping containers to accommodate the batteries, which will be surrounded by a 2.5m high steel mesh fence.
One only has to consider how much chaos a single e-bike lithium battery can cause:
A blaze at the Royal Courts of Justice was caused by an e-bike battery failure earlier this month.
The fire destroyed part of a ground floor storage room and caused chaos outside as it disrupted traffic in the Strand, London.
The LFB said at the time: “Whilst E-Bikes and E-Scooters offer a great way round the city, if the batteries become damaged or begin to fail they can start incredibly ferocious fires.
“Lithium battery fires can spread quickly out of control, and within minutes have started a large fire.”
It appears that lithium batteries have a long way to go before they can function as a serious and safe path to the future.
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