[petee]

Well this is bigger news, a giant battery from a well known company failed catastrophically within 24 hours; versus a plant running since 2001*(edit, wrong generator)

I personally have no idea the numbers, but i'd argue that lithium batteries have alot more explosive potential than your average powerstation fire...curious if anyone can compare energy density here

[QuarterReptile]

The bad part isn't just energy density, but that lithium fires are self oxidizing, so you can't smother them. Your only method of attack is to get temperature down.

Also, this type of smoke is awful. Anyone living in San Diego East of the 5 last year can probably remember how bad the Navy ship fire was compared to normal forest fire smoke.

[CraigJPerry]

I think these are lithium ion batteries not lithium batteries so you should be able to just use water to smother them.

Lithium ion packs have hardly any lithium metal, if i remember right it’s lithium salt?

[CraigJPerry]

Re: downvotes, some more info:

> How to extinguish a lithium-ion battery fire

> Let’s cut right to the chase. Despite their name, lithium-ion batteries used in consumer products do not contain any actual lithium metal. Therefore, a Class D fire extinguisher is not to be used to fight a lithium-ion battery fire. Class D fire extinguishers, which contain dry powder, are intended for combustible metal fires only. Since lithium-ion batteries aren’t made with metallic lithium, a Class D dry powder extinguisher would not be effective.

> So, what kind of fire extinguisher should you use in this scenario? Lithium-ion batteries are considered a Class B fire, so a standard ABC or BC dry chemical fire extinguisher should be used. Class B is the classification given to flammable liquids. Lithium-ion batteries contain liquid electrolytes that provide a conductive pathway, so the batteries receive a B fire classification.

>> https://resources.impactfireservices.com/how-do-you-put-out-...

[beerandt]

>>This makes LiCoO2 batteries susceptible to thermal runaway in cases of abuse such as high temperature operation (>130 °C) or overcharging. At elevated temperatures, LiCoO 2 decomposition generates oxygen, which then reacts with the organic electrolyte of the cell. This is a safety concern due to the magnitude of this highly exothermic reaction, which can spread to adjacent cells or ignite nearby combustible material. In general, this is seen for many lithium ion battery cathodes.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_cobalt_oxide

[jhgb]

> failed catastrophically within 24 hours

Bathtub curve, anyone?