Officials from police, fire, the National Institute of Forensic Science and Mercedes-Benz conduct a second joint forensic examination of an electric car that caught fire in the underground parking lot of a Cheongna apartment building on the morning of August 8 at an auto repair shop in western Incheon, South Korea. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 9 (Korea Bizwire) – Amid growing public concern over recent electric vehicle (EV) fires, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy convened an urgent meeting on August 8 to discuss preventive measures against future incidents.
The emergency conference, held at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Seoul, brought together automotive industry representatives, car and battery experts, and fire safety specialists. It was chaired by the head of the ministry’s automotive division.
“We hastily arranged this meeting to candidly discuss EV safety and alleviate public anxiety, which has escalated to fear following the recent electric vehicle fire in an underground parking lot of an apartment complex in Cheongna, Incheon,” a ministry official stated.
While the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy oversees policies promoting the automotive industry, it does not directly regulate electric vehicles or batteries. That responsibility falls to other government bodies such as the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Environment, and the National Fire Agency.
Nevertheless, the Trade Ministry aims to support the development of effective countermeasures by conveying industry and expert opinions to the government’s inter-ministerial task force, which is currently formulating a comprehensive strategy to address EV fires.
On August 12, the Vice Minister of Environment will lead a meeting with representatives from relevant ministries and agencies to discuss the issue further. Based on these discussions, the government plans to announce a comprehensive set of measures to prevent EV fires in early September.
The forthcoming measures are expected to cover a wide range of preventive strategies. One proposal under consideration would require automobile manufacturers to disclose battery suppliers in vehicle specifications, providing consumers with more transparent information.
“The fear surrounding electric vehicle fires has reached a critical level,” the ministry official explained. “Regardless of our department’s jurisdiction, we are committed to gathering as much input as possible from the industry and experts to inform the government’s deliberations.”
The official added, “While there are complex issues to navigate in improving regulations, we will support the development of measures that prioritize public safety above all else.”
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
It’s very odd and suspicious that these EV fires(or remote-controlled/timed IED sabotage attacks?) almost always only happen when the vehicle is parked motionless and unoccupied somewhere eg. a car-park, on a cargo ship, at a charge-point or in someone’s garage when they’re in bed. If these were genuinely random, spontaneous fires they’d also be happening anywhere, anytime and when the vehicles(including high-load electric school buses and trucks/semis) are occupied and being driven.
Indeed lithium ion(not LFP) fires would be most likely to happen when an EV is being driven very fast for a long time on very hot days – especially after a superfast full re-charge.
On a positive note – let’s all hope that these ostensibly random, spontaneous fires will persuade and pressure CATL to accelerate the roll-out of BOTH their ultra-long-range, superfast-charge Shenxing Plus LFP/Lithium Iron Phoshate battery packs (which are far less prone to thermal runaway/overheating) AND their next-gen sodium ion cells which can happily tolerate extremely hot/cold operating temperatures(-40C to +60C) and are thus radically less susceptible to thermal runaway and “spontaneous” combustion.
But that said – obviously tiny remote-controlled magnetic/adhesive incendiary devices can bring down planes, helicopters etc and cause almost any variety of gasoline or battery-powered vehicle to burst into flames.
Hmm – I wonder if ‘spontaneous’ eVTOL/e-plane ‘mystery’ fires will soon be making headlines and fuelling even more EV hatred, truth-blind rage, ridicule and rabid hostility…
Paul G