Beyond Lithium: New Battery Tech Starts to Break Through

[OKIsItJustMe]

2. It's funny how concerned people are about EV fires

Every day, millions of people drive vehicles with gas tanks, which (if Hollywood is to be believed) are prone to explode at the slightest provocation.

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/electric-car-fire-statistics.html

Electric car fire statistics 2026

Updated 25 July 2024

The popularity of electric vehicles (EVs) in the U.S. has exploded in recent years, with millions of EVs registered nationally. However, some misconceptions about these vehicles and their safety remain, including perceptions that EVs are more likely to catch fire than gas-powered vehicles.

Though data on vehicle fires in the U.S. is limited, evidence from national studies in Europe and elsewhere suggest EV fires are actually rarer than fires involving other types of vehicles.

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Australian firm EV FireSafe maintains a database of EV fire incidents that occur globally. It recorded fewer than 400 verified battery fires in passenger EVs between 2010 and June 2023.

In 2023, Sweden’s Authority for Social Protection and Preparedness (MSB) reported just 24 EV car fires in 2022, representing just 0.004% of the country’s 611,000 EVs.4 For cars running on gasoline or diesel fuel, the fire rate was 0.08%.

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EV fires do make the news of course, partly because they are dramatic, but, more, because they are unusual. In 2024, according to DOT statistics, 39,254 "Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities" occurred. How many of them made the evening news?