Here’s a statement that shouldn’t be controversial by now: Electric cars are less likely to catch fire than combustion-powered cars, but battery pack fires are fiercer and harder to actually stop than most combustion vehicle fires due to the heat and intensity of thermal runaway. It’s a modern problem we’re still trying to solve, so a company in China decided to employ the Patrick Starr solution of taking the thermal runaway and shoving it somewhere else. Rapidly, I may add.
The resulting video footage is dramatic, showing what appears to be a pyrotechnic solution that simply launches a smoking battery pack out to the side. The pack appears to travel more than the length of a the Chery iCar 03T, so let’s call it 10 to 20 feet. It’s some serious James Bond stuff, but also the sort of tech that could cause an international incident.
Depending on where you are, a lot of things can be within 10 to 20 feet of a vehicle. Imagine driving up to an international border, stopping at the checkpoint, and having your battery pack decide to launch itself into the guard booth next to your vehicle. Everyone on Twitter will think you’re a terrorist, but you’re just the victim of an unfortunately-timed battery pack fire and questionably implemented projectile technology. Or, imagine the headlines if a battery pack ejects at the wrong moment in traffic. “421 Dead After Battery Pack Hits Clown Car”. Sorry kids/in-laws/neurodivergent partner with a PT Barnum special interest/pet elephant looking for its long-lost relatives, no circus tonight.
It’s worth noting that several vehicles have notable safety-focused implementations of pyrotechnics. The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG has exploding bolts for its gullwing door hinges because being trapped in an upside-down vehicle is bad. The Lexus LC 500 and certain Jaguar F-Types have pyrotechnic rams that shove their hoods upward on impact for pedestrian safety. Many modern cars have pyro fuses that rapidly disconnect power in the event of a collision, but guess what all of these things have in common? That’s right, they aren’t firing a rhino’s worth of batteries towards unsuspecting bystanders.
So, whose idea is this battery pack launcher, anyway? While the technology was shown off at an event called the “Power Battery Launch Technology Demonstration and Exchange Meeting” and the banner on the side of the vehicle suggests involvement by the China Automobile Collision Repair Technology Research Center, thing are a little murky now that once-said to be involved party Joyson appears to have denounced the technology. As the Epoch Times reports:
Joyson Electronics responded to mainland media yesterday, saying that they do not have any form of cooperative development agreement with the “China Collision Repair Technology Research Center”.
It is reported that the China Automobile Collision Repair Technology Research Center belongs to the Matt Group, which owns independent brands such as Welion, BANTAM, and MAXIMA.
Regardless of who’s responsible, this battery pack launcher falls along the lines of “cool, now never do that again.” An automotive battery pack is a huge thing to have as a projectile, and turning a battery pack fire into a problem for whoever’s next to you is just plain inconsiderate. If you were ever a dumb teenager trying to start a barbecue with way too much lighter fluid, your first thought after “Oh my god, my eyebrows” probably wasn’t to chuck the whole thing onto the neighbor’s lawn, yeah?
[Editor’s Note: I think everybody is missing the real, less obvious application here: ultra-fast and exciting battery swaps! Imagine pulling into a battery swap station as your battery blasts out one side, and a new battery blasts into the other! Then an attendant yanks your door open and smacks you, hard, just to keep the vibe going! This could be the future! – JT]
Top graphic image: China Automobile Collision Repair Technology Research Center
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