Safety Must Come First to Advance the Battery Industry

If we prepare for the risks ahead, we can fully achieve what we want. As seen in the Kakao data center fire and electric vehicle explosion accidents, battery safety is a task that must be addressed first and foremost. The potential for industrial development using batteries is enormous, but that is only possible on the premise that safety is secured. It is also possible to prevent accidents before they occur.

Although the cause of the Kakao data center accident has not yet been fully determined, experts point to lithium-ion batteries as the main cause of the fire. Data centers are equipped with emergency power supply systems to ensure electricity even in an emergency. The lithium-ion batteries used in such facilities can cause severe damage once a fire breaks out. Once a battery is damaged, its internal temperature rises rapidly and the flames spread in a chain reaction to nearby cells. In such cases, initial fire suppression is difficult, allowing the damage to escalate. At the time of the fire, the automatic fire detection system operated normally, yet the initial response failed to extinguish it.

The issue of battery safety lies at the center of this incident. We need to look at a more fundamental problem than the points some have raised, such as a lack of corporate responsibility or the danger of Korean-made batteries. The cause of this accident is neither a lack of responsibility on the part of a platform company nor a problem with the quality of batteries produced by Korean companies. Above all, what we must be wary of is the fact that we are overlooking scientific judgment regarding battery safety. Industrial development, too, is only possible when it is grounded in safety.

Once an accident occurs, it causes enormous damage. Battery accidents are also highly likely to lead to large-scale fires. The harm to lives and property is serious, but such accidents also create distrust toward products and industries. What the Hongseong solar energy storage system fire in April 2021, the battery manufacturing plant fire in Cheongju, North Chungcheong, in January 2022, the KT Gangnam data center fire two years ago, and the Kakao data center fire all commonly show is the issue of battery safety. The fact that battery-related safety accidents occur frequently is due to excessive expectations for industries that use batteries. It is a phenomenon brought on by the belief that battery use is environmentally friendly and the complacent attitude that, therefore, even if it is risky, it is not a problem. Even though it has not yet reached the safety standards of other industries such as nuclear power generation, the government has encouraged and supported it, thereby making the risks even greater.

Even though safety has not yet been fully secured, battery-related facilities are steadily expanding in everyday life. Indifference to battery safety can easily be seen around us. Electric vehicle battery charging facilities that appear in apartment complexes and on neighborhood streets are very often installed next to parking spaces for the elderly, the disabled, and other vulnerable users. Even though safety should come first, installing battery charging facilities near spaces used by vulnerable people is another example of this lack of safety awareness. It is impossible to predict when or how a battery-related fire will occur. But placing battery-related facilities without considering the possibility of accidents is regrettable, because it exposes citizens’ safety to danger.

The waste battery industry is still in its early stages. The number of batteries reaching the end of their service life is expected to increase sharply in the future. Proper measures have not yet been prepared for how to dispose of this enormous volume of waste batteries or how to store them over the long term. Energy storage systems (ESS) can also lead people to overlook the waste battery problem. Using waste batteries is even more dangerous than using ordinary batteries. Because people misunderstand waste batteries as something that can continue to be used, responses to waste battery disposal are being delayed. At present, the reuse and recycling of waste batteries are being encouraged from the ESG perspective. But the limitation posed by the safety problems of waste batteries must be taken into account.

The battery industry is drawing attention for its growth potential. If safety can be secured, significant growth can be expected in the future. Fortunately, Korean companies are leading industrial development by developing core technologies that improve battery safety. LG Energy Solution, in particular, is regarded as having secured technological competitiveness in next-generation all-solid-state batteries with improved safety. For the stable development of the industry, battery safety must be secured as a top priority.

Sung-no Choi, President of the Center for Free Enterprise (CFE)

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Original title: 배터리산업 발전 위해 안전성 확보가 우선

Author: Sung-no Choi

Date: 2022-12-07

Source: https://www.cfe.org/bbs/bbsDetail.php?cid=press&idx=25165