Safety First
Today renewables represent less than 10% of global energy production.
The world needs to quickly scale up renewable energies to achieve Net Zero by 2050.
The energy transition towards lower carbon energies will result in more diversified energy supply chains which will increase the complexity of ‘just in time’ demand management and make the role of power grids mission-critical in every community.
Importantly, the expected faster growth in renewables will mean of course faster growth in energy storage, which in turn will dramatically increase the usage of batteries in our daily lives.
When it comes to energy management, safety comes first.
The recent segment on NBCUniversal ’s TODAY Show, link below, was a good wake up call for everyone in society.
According to NBCUniversal there were 216 fires caused by lithium-ion batteries in New York alone last year, with six tragic fatalities. NBCUniversal point to design flaws and overcharging as the most likely cause of those incidents.
The demonstration shown in NBCUniversal ’s segment of what can happen when a battery is overcharged – how quickly the fire can spread, the toxic chemicals that can be released – does not reflect real-world conditions of course, as they purposefully disabled the safety features. But it does underline NBCUniversal ’s conclusion that it is important for all batteries used in our lives to operate safely.
NBCUniversal is right to point out that one way for consumers to know that what they buy has been safety-tested is to look for products that have been independently tested and certified by companies like UL Solutions and Intertek .
Safety First!