PT FAST Explains Fire Fighting Solutions In Electric Cars

Photo: Doc. PT FAST

JAKARTA - PT Famindo Alfa Technology Spectrum (PT FAST) held a joint discussion activity entitled 'Revolutionizing EV Safety in Indonesia: Breaking Solutions with Innovation' on Monday, November 25.

This activity was opened by the Secretary General of the Indonesian Electric Vehicle Industry Association (Periklindo) Tenggono Chuandra Phoa.

In the past decade, the electric vehicle (EV) industry has experienced a very significant increase. Even the electric car market in Indonesia is currently starting to stretch.

The vital component in EVs is the source of electrical energy that comes from batteries. However, battery electric-powered vehicles (BEVs) also have a risk.

In a number of countries in the last few years, there have been several cases of fire in electric vehicles. Some of them use Lithium batteries.

Please note that the burning EV is very difficult to extinguish. This is due to the different characteristics of Lithium from the material in other types of batteries in the event of a fire.

Lithium batteries do not require oxygen to burn. The fire temperature is very high, starting from around 1,000 degC and can continue to increase to reach more than 2,000 degC.

In the burning Lithium battery, the fire will continue to fire repeatedly as long as the energy of the electrons inside the battery has not run out.

There are three kinds of mitigation solutions to the risk of fire in electric car batteries, namely predictive, preventive and protective. For protective action, if there is a fire in the electric vehicle battery, it certainly uses a special fire extinguisher. One of them is APAR Hartindo AF31 Lithium Fire Killer (LFK) produced by PT. Hartindo Chemicanama Industri and marketed by PT. Famindo Alfa Technology Spectrum (PT. FAST).

This fire extinguisher is made from water with a special chemical mixture that is categorized as food grade. Not only safe if exposed to the skin or eyes, but also safe if exposed to the mouth and even accidentally swallowed.

Apart from being patented internationally, LFK APAR is also produced in Indonesia with 49.41 percent TKDN (Domestic Component Level).

It is not enough if you only rely on APAR, predictive and preventive efforts need to be carried out. One example is the BALLISTIC (Battery Life Alert Diagnostic) detection device. This sophisticated device will provide an early warning if a temperature anomaly and electrical parameters are detected on the battery.

When extinguishing the fire with extra high temperatures, you can't do anything. You have to use a special shield, for example, like POWER TECH SHIELD. This special anti-fire blanket is resistant to a temperature of 1,600°C.

For the prevention of passive fires, one of which is using a viscous liquid resembling a gel whose use is sufficient to be placed in a battery compartment.

If the battery temperature spikes drastically and even begins to fire, then the gel packaging layer will break and the gel will flood the battery to prevent the spark from getting bigger. With this product called G-TECH, the fire can be extinguished independently.

As a complement to protection, PT FAST has collaborated with Pindad Engineering Indonesia in producing Undercarriage Suppression System (USS) devices.

This fire extinguisher is specially designed to deal with fires in the chassis area of electric cars. Placement of batteries that are usually under the vehicle is certainly a bit difficult to extinguish.

With a high-pressure nozzle, the USS is capable of spraying chemical liquids to extinguish hotspots that are difficult to reach conventional tube model mild fire extinguishers (APARs).

The crucial risk that to this day is faced by every EV industry around the world is almost the same, namely a fire caused by lithium batteries. It is impossible to extinguish it with conventional APAR," said Willy Hadiwidjaja, Chief Executive Officer of PT FAST.

When it comes to industrial revolutions such as the development of the electric vehicle industry, it will certainly be accompanied by potential risks that we must be aware of. Predictive, preventive and protective steps are the main pillars that must be considered as part of mitigation efforts against the risk of fire on electric car batteries.