Did lithium batteries cause a factory fire in South Korea?

The batteries involved in a fatal June 24 factory fire in South Korea were lithium metal batteries, not lithium-ion batteries.

What happened to a lithium battery supplier in South Korea?

The workers who died this week had been sent to Aricell, a supplier of lithium batteries for the South Korea military, by a temp agency. The company has run afoul of safety regulations before, regional fire chief Jo Seon-ho said at a news conference Tuesday. In 2019, it was fined for storing 23 times the amount of lithium permitted.

Why is lithium a good battery material?

The layers can become compressed by a sudden impact, such as during a vehicle collision, or by gradual swelling of the batteries through regular use. Lithium is a metal that can store large amounts of energy in a small space, which is why it is attractive as a battery material.

Are lithium batteries at risk of exploding?

Lithium batteries are at risk of exploding if they are damaged or overheated. Whatever the cause, once the fire took hold, it would have spread at speed - giving the workers little time to escape, according to Kim Jae-ho, fire and disaster prevention professor at Daejeon University.

Can lithium batteries combust?

Lithium batteries can combust from moisture, external impact or faulty manufacturing, making fires an ever-present threat for which manufacturers should be prepared, experts say. Aricell’s product — a military-grade, nonrechargeable battery — was especially dangerous, according to Park Chul-wan, a battery expert at Seojeong University.

Is lithium a fire hazard?

In 2019, it was fined for storing 23 times the amount of lithium permitted. A year later, it was ordered to fix dysfunctional fire safety systems. In a routine safety inspection last March, the local fire department singled out the building that burned this week as a potential fire hazard.