CNPP Conducts Battery Fire Tests
In 2024, France Assureurs and Assurance Prévention entrusted CNPP with the implementation of a large-scale testing campaign on lithium-ion battery fires. This initiative aims to improve understanding of these emerging risks and to support prevention stakeholders with objective, scientific data.
A Context of Rapid Growth in Battery-Related Risks
Lithium-ion batteries are now widely used in many applications, including electric vehicles, energy storage systems, portable electronic devices and industrial equipment. This rapid deployment is accompanied by new fire risks, particularly linked to thermal runaway phenomena. This rapid deployment is accompanied by new fire risks, particularly linked to thermal runaway phenomena.
Incidents involving lithium-ion batteries can result in intense fires, rapid fire spread, toxic smoke emissions and complex firefighting conditions. These characteristics require a better understanding of fire behavior in order to adapt prevention, protection and response strategies.
The fire that occurred in February 2024 in Viviez (Aveyron) in a battery warehouse, as well as the explosion of an e-scooter battery while charging in a private home in Dunkirk a few months ago, have demonstrated that the storage and use of lithium-ion batteries can present a significant fire risk.
This is why France Assureurs decided to entrust CNPP with large-scale battery fire tests. This test campaign will make it possible to improve our understanding of this risk in order to better prevent it and to reduce its human and material consequences.
Objectives of the Test Campaign
The primary objectives of this testing campaign were to:
- improve technical knowledge of lithium-ion battery fire behavior;
- provide insurers and prevention stakeholders with reliable reference data;
- support the development of prevention and protection measures;
- contribute to the evolution of best practices and safety recommendations.
We initiated this testing campaign with the objective of advancing our understanding of this new risk represented by electric batteries. We will then be able to adapt our prevention messaging to this new reality, particularly in relation to the development of soft mobility, including electric scooters and electric bicycles.
Through this initiative, our association Assurance Prévention fulfils its role, on behalf of insurers, of raising public awareness of everyday risks.
Test configuration on November 12, 2024
The setup for this test is representative of a common lithium-ion battery storage scenario located near a production area. Our testing facility—unique in Europe, covering an area of 900 m² and equipped with an adjustable ceiling—contained a pallet of 40 lithium-ion batteries packaged in cardboard boxes, positioned under a ceiling height of 3 meters. Ignition was triggered by an electric heating plate pre-installed inside the unit. A comprehensive array of cameras and sensors allowed for the monitoring of the fire's progression by measuring real-time parameters such as temperature, heat flux, water flow rate, and water pressure.
Innovations, particularly in the field of mobility, generate new risks that must be thoroughly understood to be contained. CNPP's purpose is to create a trusted environment for everyone by developing expertise on emerging subjects. We thank France Assureurs and Assurance Prévention for placing their trust in us once again for such tests. Our site in Vernon is perfectly suited to the requirements of this research.
