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Technology@lemmy.worldbyschizoidman@lemmy.zip
4 months

'It doesn’t catch fire': Why China’s "fireproof" sodium battery could be the breakthrough that makes EVs safer than ICE cars

www.techradar.com English

cross-posted from : https://lemmy.zip/post/62209262

75
    New sodium battery creates an internal barrier that prevents fires
    www.techradar.com
    New sodium battery technology creates an internal barrier that helps prevent battery fires
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    • Asetru@feddit.orgEnglish
      4 months

      the breakthrough that makes EVs safer than ICE cars

      Did Toyota write this? EVs already are much safer than ICEs, the headline reads like it’s trying to gaslight people into thinking otherwise.

        • BlackLaZoR@lemmy.worldEnglish
          4 months

          Except ones with no handles. You’re supposed to burn alive in these.

            • Asetru@feddit.orgEnglish
              4 months

              Which has nothing to do with the drive train.

                • BlackLaZoR@lemmy.worldEnglish
                  4 months

                  Except the fact that batteries burn extremely rapidly. In case of fire you have seconds to open the door and help the driver/passaners escape out of the vehicle

                    • RaoulDook@lemmy.worldEnglish
                      4 months

                      I’ve heard that gasoline also tends to burn rapidly. The Mythbusters usually had to add gas to make their explosions look cooler

                        • BlackLaZoR@lemmy.worldEnglish
                          4 months

                          Not as rapidly as lithium batteries. From firefighting perspective this is much uglier case. Bonus issue: unlike gasoline, you can’t extinguish it reliably - it has to burn out on its own

                        • SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.caEnglish
                          4 months

                          Dude…gas cars blow up every day. It’s so common it’s not news.

                          Vehicle fires report | NFPA Research

                          National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) https://www.nfpa.org/ › research › fire-statistical-reports Oct 31, 2024 — The 195,927 highway vehicle fires per year in 2018–2022 caused an average of 579 civilian deaths; 1,336 civilian injuries.

                    • Soup@lemmy.worldEnglish
                      4 months

                      Except their weight which leads to insane amounts of energy transfer and also none of the intrastructure, like guardrails, is built to handle that much weight so low down.

                      The way to safer is to reduce the amount of cars.

                        • neo2478@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
                          11 hours

                          Next best thing to improving public transport to reduce the ammouny of cars would be reducing the size of cars, thus in large part negating the weight issue.

                          But like you said, nothing beats just having fewer cars on the road.

                            • Polisheocket@lemmy.zipEnglish
                              9 hours

                              Just make cars insanely expensive, eventually Less cars will be on the riad

                                • neo2478@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
                                  8 hours

                                  That just punishes poor people. If you male public transport good, people will take it.

                                    • Polisheocket@lemmy.zipEnglish
                                      30 minutes

                                      I was being sarcastic and it didn’t come off well

                                • ThomasWilliams@lemmy.worldEnglish
                                  4 months

                                  EVs weigh similar to similar ICE vehicles.

                                    • A7thStone@lemmy.worldEnglish
                                      4 months

                                      Yeah, no.

                                      This is a golf compared to an id.3. Two very comparable vehicles. The id.3 weighs 41% more. Don’t get me wrong I’d love to be able to get an id.3 but all we get in the states are these horrible SUVs. That said EVs do still suffer a major weight penalty that comes with its own issues.

                                      • Soup@lemmy.worldEnglish
                                        4 months

                                        Not even a little bit, and I’d say “but good effort” but really no, not even that.

                                        • SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.caEnglish
                                          4 months

                                          WTF Lemmy…EVs are massively heavy.

                                      • Romkslrqusz@lemmy.zipEnglish
                                        4 months

                                        EVs already are much safer than ICEs

                                        For the occupant or those who are involved in a collision with one?

                                        EVs are heavy

                                          • Asetru@feddit.orgEnglish
                                            4 months

                                            They don’t catch fire that often though.

                                            Which is what that headline is about.

                                              • monkeyFromTheLake@programming.devEnglish
                                                4 months

                                                Do ice car catch fire more often?

                                                  • Amju Wolf@pawb.socialEnglish
                                                    4 months

                                                    While true, you should also mention that there’s way more ICEs and (more importantly) the way they burn is much, much safer.

                                                    You can’t really extinguish lithium fire, it burns way hotter, and it’s more toxic.

                                                    Comparatively an ICE car burning is not a big deal; they almost never make other stuff around them burn, and also when they catch on fire it’s pretty much exclusively only when people are still near/in them so there’s A chance to notice it and do something about it.

                                                    • Asetru@feddit.orgEnglish
                                                      4 months

                                                      Yes.

                                                • SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.caEnglish
                                                  4 months

                                                  EVs already are much safer than ICEs

                                                  https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevebanker/2025/02/11/tesla-again-has-the-highest-accident-rate-of-any-auto-brand/

                                                    • Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
                                                      4 months

                                                      You do realize that article neither negates or supports the above statement.

                                                        • SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.caEnglish
                                                          4 months

                                                          Safer cars get into less crashes. You seriously want to argue semantics?

                                                          https://www.tesladeaths.com/

                                                            • Malfeasant@lemmy.worldEnglish
                                                              3 months

                                                              There are electric cars that are not Teslas…

                                                      • adeoxymus@lemmy.worldEnglish
                                                        4 months

                                                        Maybe a bit irrelevant but why is the article calling it “China’s battery“? I feel like if the researchers were from any other countries academy of science, say France, the title would have simply been something like “scientists discover new ways for fireproof battery”. Maybe it’d say French scientists or so, but not simply “France’s battery”?

                                                          • Sheppa@aussie.zoneEnglish
                                                            4 months

                                                            Because cool China is so totally innovative unlike the boring west! We gotta hype them up, no one else ever does cool stuff only China brand is cool.

                                                              • greyscale@lemmy.grey.oooEnglish
                                                                4 months

                                                                They have been trying to murder the US and EU auto industry and dumping biblical shittons of money into battery technology. the EU and the US aren’t trying to compete.

                                                                Its still an advancement for all mankind, even if my countries leadership wont let me have one.

                                                                • Specter@piefed.socialEnglish
                                                                  4 months

                                                                  Actually it’s the other way around.

                                                                  The internet is all about “China Bad” so calling it China Battery is a way to depreciate this obviously positive discovery.

                                                                    • Sheppa@aussie.zoneEnglish
                                                                      4 months

                                                                      “Should we just not talk about this awesome new tech?”

                                                                      “No, let’s put China in front of this totally awesome thing so people will think it’s bad while we hype it up as such a great invention in the article. Oh and don’t mention working conditions, state subsidies, mineral extraction, or any of the usual anti-China talking points, that might make them think it’s not bad”

                                                                        • Specter@piefed.socialEnglish
                                                                          4 months

                                                                          I’m sorry you live with so much gratuitous hatred in your heart and I pray you can recover some day.

                                                                            • wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyzEnglish
                                                                              4 months

                                                                              How is pointing out the flaw in your logic “gratuitous hatred”? It doesn’t make any sense that the rationale for calling it “China’s battery” is to make it sound bad, when the article is clearly extolling the virtues of the battery.

                                                                              Or is it the part where the other commenter brought attention to the working conditions in China? Because that’s not motivated by hatred, but rather class solidarity. How badly do you have to hate Chinese people to believe Chinese workers don’t deserve better conditions? What about ethnic minorities in China who are having their cultural heritage stripped away from them?

                                                                              Is it because the government officials aren’t white, so you believe they can do no wrong? So you’ll just call any legitimate criticism of them racist? That’s like Israel calling anti-zionism anti-semitic. There’s nothing sinophobic about legitimate criticisms of the PRC.

                                                                                • village604@adultswim.fanEnglish
                                                                                  4 months

                                                                                  People who support China don’t seem to comprehend that shitty countries aren’t a zero sum game.

                                                                                  You can shit on China’s government while also shitting on the US government.

                                                                                  • Specter@piefed.socialEnglish
                                                                                    4 months

                                                                                    Nice argument you’re having with yourself there, buddy. Seems like you have quite a lot to pour out.

                                                                                    I don’t have any affinity for China, but I also don’t like the gratuitous hate they get all over the internet, nor the reduction of Chinese people’s experience to work drones (what you’re doing).

                                                                                    I had hoped that Lemmy wasn’t gonna be like that, but alas.

                                                                                      • wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyzEnglish
                                                                                        4 months

                                                                                        Oh, what, you can’t handle three paragraphs? Maybe you should go over to mastodon or loops then.

                                                                                        I question your definition of “gratuitous hate,” as I haven’t seen any examples of actual hatred in this comment chain. You seem like you just can’t handle being disagreed with, so you make strawman arguments against the people disagreeing with you.

                                                                                        nor the reduction of Chinese people’s experience to work drones (what you’re doing).

                                                                                        Calling attention to an abysmal work culture which enforces long working hours and authoritarian hierarchies, and frequently drives people to suicide, isn’t reducing people to work drones. And if that’s how you interpret that critique, then you have no class solidarity.

                                                                                        And before you cry that I’m singling China out, I’m not. The US rivals them for overall shittiness, while paling by comparison in innovation and development.

                                                                                        But this conversation is about China, and if you can’t tolerate a structural critique that isn’t even laden with hatred and bias, then, well, I don’t know what to tell you…

                                                                                • ayyy@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
                                                                                  4 months

                                                                                  Is this “china always bad” internet in the room with us right now? Do you deny the positive sentiment in this very thread you’re posting in right now?

                                                                              • CosmoNova@lemmy.worldEnglish
                                                                                4 months

                                                                                Classic fluff piece to make China look more innovative than they actually are. I wouldn‘t be surprised if we never heard of this tech or if they recycle the same article next year. Tech ‚journalism‘ about China is a mine field of false claims and exaggerations.

                                                                                  • ayyy@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
                                                                                    4 months

                                                                                    These batteries are already in production cars. Have been for a while. If you don’t have access to them it’s because of your regressive protectionist government.

                                                                                      • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.worldEnglish
                                                                                        4 months

                                                                                        No no no. China is Fake News. They don’t even make cars. If they made cars, I would have seen Chinese cars driving around in America.

                                                                                          • ayyy@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
                                                                                            4 months

                                                                                            Regressive protectionism isn’t exactly unique to the American auto industry but yea.

                                                                                        • wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyzEnglish
                                                                                          4 months

                                                                                          Na+ batteries are really cool tech, and with a few more iterations of R&D they can potentially replace Li+ batteries, removing the need for rare earth elements that are toxic to people and the environment, dangerous to extract, and more often than not extracted by child slave labor (such as in Xinjiang and Congo).

                                                                                          It doesn’t matter how you feel about China, although framing Na+ as “China’s battery” is problematic for other reasons.

                                                                                            • CosmoNova@lemmy.worldEnglish
                                                                                              3 months

                                                                                              Well it stinks like Chinese propaganda. That much was blatantly obvious to me. It‘s just not always obvious what part they‘re lying about. So it was the part about it being Chinese in the first place. Not very creative I must say.

                                                                                                • wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyzEnglish
                                                                                                  3 months

                                                                                                  The particular innovation discussed in the article was developed by Chinese engineers. But that doesn’t make Na+ batteries “Chinese batteries.”

                                                                                                  If all tech was owned by the country where it was developed, there would be a lot more “american this,” “american that.” Planes, computers, automobiles, nukes, etc.

                                                                                                  Too much of it already is controlled by US patents, though. There needs to be more freedom to invent, develop, and iterate…

                                                                                                • SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.caEnglish
                                                                                                  4 months

                                                                                                  Sodium batteries won’t fix the mining issue for rare earths. Lithium is not rare.

                                                                                              • HiTekRedNek@lemmy.worldEnglish
                                                                                                4 months

                                                                                                Because it’s written as Chinese propaganda.

                                                                                                  • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.worldEnglish
                                                                                                    4 months

                                                                                                    “China Battery!” typically trips everyone’s “Fake News! Evil Company! Communists Killed 100 Billion People!” alarm

                                                                                                      • HiTekRedNek@lemmy.worldEnglish
                                                                                                        4 months

                                                                                                        More like “China lies” about everything.

                                                                                                          • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.worldEnglish
                                                                                                            4 months

                                                                                                            That’s what my government tells me

                                                                                                              • HiTekRedNek@lemmy.worldEnglish
                                                                                                                3 months

                                                                                                                Maybe you aren’t old enough to remember all the “scientific breakthroughs” that came out of China in the early 2000s that were later proven to be false, completely made up, all of which were published by institutions at least partially owned by ministers in China’s government.

                                                                                                                  • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.worldEnglish
                                                                                                                    3 months

                                                                                                                    You mean high speed rail and electric cars?

                                                                                                                      • HiTekRedNek@lemmy.worldEnglish
                                                                                                                        3 months

                                                                                                                        No.

                                                                                                          • SolarMonkey@slrpnk.netEnglish
                                                                                                            4 months

                                                                                                            I thought sodium batteries had considerably less energy density than conventional? Is that not a problem anymore? If that hasn’t been solved, I don’t see how this helps make EVs safer.

                                                                                                            • fenrasulfr@lemmy.worldEnglish
                                                                                                              4 months

                                                                                                              Sodium is absolutely less of a fire risk which is good and is made of less rare earth minerals which is also a bonus.

                                                                                                              The major downside is the energy density. If I am not mistaken it is about half of current litium ion batteries. Which would result in a halving of range for the same weight.

                                                                                                              On top of that, if they ever get them into production, the solid state Lithium ion batteries are not only more energy dense than current batteries, they are also safer due to the lack of flammable liquid electrolites.

                                                                                                              In conclusion with what I know, I doubt most cars will use sodium ion batteries. I would see them as great home batteries for solar installations. And maybe batteries for farm equipement or construction vehicles although the weight might become an issue.

                                                                                                              • bebabalula@feddit.dkEnglish
                                                                                                                4 months

                                                                                                                Uh, EVs are safer than ICE cars

                                                                                                                  • SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.caEnglish
                                                                                                                    4 months

                                                                                                                    That’s incorrect.

                                                                                                                    https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevebanker/2025/02/11/tesla-again-has-the-highest-accident-rate-of-any-auto-brand/

                                                                                                                    EVs crash more. Safer cars crash less.

                                                                                                                      • bebabalula@feddit.dkEnglish
                                                                                                                        4 months

                                                                                                                        EVs Teslas crash more.

                                                                                                                        “Some of these accidents involved Tesla’s self-driving system.”

                                                                                                                    • Blackmist@feddit.ukEnglish
                                                                                                                      4 months

                                                                                                                      The “they catch fire” argument is fucking bonkers anyway.

                                                                                                                      If there’s one thing petrol cars are famous for, it’s being filled with flammable liquids that can and do leak everywhere and combust upon collision.

                                                                                                                      You can ignore them. Same with all the disingenuous cunts who complain about wind turbines “spoiling the view” who ignore the coal and gas power stations that have littered the skyline for over a century.

                                                                                                                        • boonhet@sopuli.xyzEnglish
                                                                                                                          4 months

                                                                                                                          You can put a petrol fire out in less than a few days though. Petrol doesn’t magically catch fire upon seeing oxygen either.

                                                                                                                          • themachinestops@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
                                                                                                                            4 months

                                                                                                                            Lithium fires are hard to contain unlike petrol fire:

                                                                                                                            https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/firefighters-forced-submerge-electric-car-082852772.html

                                                                                                                              • bountygiver [any]@lemmy.mlEnglish
                                                                                                                                3 months

                                                                                                                                So does an airplane crash would be more horrifying than a car crash, but that doesn’t change the fact that airplanes are safer.

                                                                                                                                Even so, any improvement is still good though

                                                                                                                                  • themachinestops@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
                                                                                                                                    3 months

                                                                                                                                    I never said they aren’t safer I only replied to the comment that petrol cars also burn, my point is that even though they are safer overall their fires are more dangerous.

                                                                                                                                • poopkins@lemmy.worldEnglish
                                                                                                                                  4 months

                                                                                                                                  Ah, Lemmy. You never disappoint with sharing hilariously inaccurate information in comments!

                                                                                                                                    • yes_this_time@lemmy.worldEnglish
                                                                                                                                      4 months

                                                                                                                                      https://firerover.com/resources/how-often-do-ev-batteries-catch-fire/#%3A~%3Atext=Here's+what+current+studies+say%2Cper+100%2C000+for+gasoline+cars

                                                                                                                                      ICE vehicles have far more fires. EVs are more intense, but significantly less frequent

                                                                                                                                        • poopkins@lemmy.worldEnglish
                                                                                                                                          3 months

                                                                                                                                          Cool source. Ok, I’ll bite. The number of fire deaths in Teslas alone drawfs the number of fatalities in the infamous Pinto. The number is being tracked by volunteers because there’s no data from the NFPA or others that segments by EV vs ICE, but the number of highway vehicle fire deaths has been trending sharply upwards since 2016.

                                                                                                                                            • Skysurfer@slrpnk.netEnglish
                                                                                                                                              3 months

                                                                                                                                              Tesla has sold nearly 8 million cars in total, with 3.5 million cars in 2023-2024 alone. There were 3.1 million Pintos ever produced in its 10 year run.

                                                                                                                                              There are 27 fatalities linked to Pinto related fires and 83 related to Tesla fires according to your volunteer run source. The Pinto had a fatality for every 1 in 116,000 vehicles while Tesla, according to your source, has 1 in every 96,000. So the number of Tesla fire related fatalities does not “dwarf” the number of Pinto related fatalities. On top of that, a key difference is most of the Pinto fatalities were due to rear end collisions with no fault of the driver while Tesla’s are much higher performance vehicles getting involved in high energy collisions due to driver (autonomous and human) errors.

                                                                                                                                              Here is a list giving a different view of fatal accidents by car model. To quote the article:

                                                                                                                                              “Most of these vehicles received excellent safety ratings, performing well in crash tests at the IIHS and NHTSA, so it’s not a vehicle design issue,” said Brauer. “The models on this list likely reflect a combination of driver behavior and driving conditions, leading to increased crashes and fatalities.”

                                                                                                                                                • poopkins@lemmy.worldEnglish
                                                                                                                                                  3 months

                                                                                                                                                  Narrowing down the relevant information from your otherwise interesting comment, we can conclude that, if the sources are accurate, Teslas on average are more unsafe in terms of fire safety than the most unsafe internal combustion engine vehicle ever manufactured.

                                                                                                                                                  I think it’s ludicrous to dismiss those concerns as “fucking bonkers” and that we “can ignore them.” New addition to this list is that we can evidently also generalize all those EVs deaths as being “due to driver error,” so I suppose good riddance? Not really sure what to make of that, but boy do these threads sure show the best of humanity.

                                                                                                                                                    • yes_this_time@lemmy.worldEnglish
                                                                                                                                                      3 months

                                                                                                                                                      I think Teslas shouldn’t speak for all EVs.

                                                                                                                                                      the company has demonstrated a very high tolerance for risk. In execution, but also they don’t seem to care about reputational risk. Other manufacturers with a larger business at stake, I would expect to handle recalls, safety in a different manner (one of the reasons they are lagging in the EV space)

                                                                                                                                                      So… EVs have significantly less fires than combustion engines

                                                                                                                                                      But EVs fires are more severe

                                                                                                                                                      Tesla is a mess.

                                                                                                                                                      EV chemistry is getting better and safer over time.

                                                                                                                                                      Combustion engines are largely at their limit.

                                                                                                                                                        • poopkins@lemmy.worldEnglish
                                                                                                                                                          3 months

                                                                                                                                                          Absolutely agreed on all points!

                                                                                                                                                        • Skysurfer@slrpnk.netEnglish
                                                                                                                                                          3 months

                                                                                                                                                          You have clearly made up a narrative you want to hear, that doesn’t change the statistics that clearly shows EVs are significantly less prone (~20x) to catching fire compared to internal combustion vehicles.

                                                                                                                                                            • poopkins@lemmy.worldEnglish
                                                                                                                                                              3 months

                                                                                                                                                              How have I made up a narrative? My premise from the start was the absurdity of dismissing the dangers of vehicle fires, and there’s data showing that a significant number of people die in EV fires. You’ve decided to argue that the deaths somehow matter less—that’s making up a narrative to justify your, frankly, ludicrous position.

                                                                                                                                                              I’m sure that if somebody you loved died in such an event and somebody came along telling you that you’re “an idiot” for having legitimate concerns, should be ignored and lumps you into a group of “disingenuous cunts,” you’d have a different perspective.

                                                                                                                                                • AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.worldEnglish
                                                                                                                                                  4 months

                                                                                                                                                  This from the people that gave us fireworks… traditions disappear so fast…

                                                                                                                                                    • conartistpanda@lemmy.worldEnglish
                                                                                                                                                      4 months

                                                                                                                                                      God forbid someone does a humor

                                                                                                                                                      • GreenBottles@lemmy.worldEnglish
                                                                                                                                                        4 months

                                                                                                                                                        Wut

                                                                                                                                                          • skye@lemmy.worldEnglish
                                                                                                                                                            4 months

                                                                                                                                                            the same people that invented fireworks (thing that is set on fire and goes boom) now actively research/made the safe batteries (things that DON’T set on fire AND don’t go boom)

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