Stellantis Patents an Ejection System for Flaming EV Batteries
Stellantis has patented a system that would physically detach an overheating battery pack from a vehicle before thermal runaway escalates.
EV fires are hard to contain, and the patent targets the failure mode behind them. Once thermal runaway starts, the resulting fire is extremely difficult to control. Stellantis's proposed answer is simple: separate the hot battery from the rest of the vehicle entirely.
In practice, the driver triggers a quick-release control. The filing says it could take the form of a lever, button, touchscreen input, or toggle. A controller then cuts the high-voltage battery's electrical connection and physically frees it from the chassis. The patent outlines several methods, among them a sliding frame or pyrotechnic fasteners that break apart to release the pack.
The filing also addresses the obvious problem of being left in a stranded EV parked over a burning battery. After the high-voltage pack drops away, the car falls back on a separate low-voltage battery capable of powering the electric motor far enough to move it clear of the discarded pack.
Several practical concerns remain before such a system could operate in public. Dropping a dangerously hot battery onto a road where it could strike another vehicle, or anywhere else it might start a new hazard, is among the issues that would need to be resolved. The concept is not unique to Stellantis; Chinese manufacturers have been exploring similar ideas for over a year.
Become an AutoGuide insider. Get the latest from the automotive world first by subscribing to our newsletterhere.
AutoGuide's daily news hound. I report on the latest breaking news in the auto industry across the US and around the world.
More by Marcus Lewinsky
Comments
Join the conversation
EVs have sunk huge ships .They are dangerous .