What Equipment Do I Need to Prevent a Lithium-Ion Fire from Spreading?

Learn all about the different lithium-ion battery storage solutions available and how they can help you to keep your operations — and your people — safe.

As you know from our article on thermal runaway, the best ways to prevent a lithium-ion (Li-ion) fire are to set up processes around the proper care and maintenance of your batteries. There are several ways you should do this to keep them in good condition, which we outline in that resource, so head over there if you haven’t read that one already.

But prevention isn’t just process-driven. When the safety of your people is on the line, it pays to have all the necessary tools and equipment on-site to minimise both the risk of a Li-ion fire and its impact in the event of an emergency. Storage solutions play a key role in this.

Read on to learn about what these units look like in the emerging field of Li-ion technology and how our solutions will help you keep your operations running and your people safe.

Click to download your copy of our four-step risk assessment checklist for Li-ion batteries.

Lithium-ion battery cabinets

Specialist Li-ion cabinets are suitable for both storing and recharging Li-ion batteries. 

Considerably smaller than walk-in stores or transport containers, these can be installed conveniently across your operations, reducing machine downtime and improving productivity for businesses with low numbers of small Li-ion battery packs in operation.

Examples of our Li-ion battery cabinets include, but are not limited to:

L1 Type – Single Door Tall Cabinet 

• Number of doors: 1
• Handle side: Left
• Door closure: Automatic
• External dimensions (WxDxH): 595 x 600 x 1950mm
• Internal dimensions (WxDxH): 496 x 446 x 1540mm
• Weight: 210kg

L5 Type – Double Door Tall Cabinet 

• Number of doors: 2
• Door closure: Automatic
• External dimensions (WxDxH): 1200 x 600 x 1950mm
• Internal dimensions (WxDxH): 1095 x 446 x 1540mm
• Weight: 350kg

L6 Type – Single Door Short Cabinet

• Number of doors: 1
• Door closure: Automatic
• External dimensions (WxDxH): 595 x 520 x 720mm
• Internal dimensions (WxDxH): 483 x 349 x 593mm
• Weight: 87kg

L8 Type – Double Door Short Cabinet

• Number of doors: 2
• Door closure: Automatic
• External dimensions (WxDxH): 1090 x 520 x 720mm
• Internal dimensions (WxDxH): 978 x 349 x 593mm
• Weight: 139kg

Fire-rated walk-in stores

Walk-in stores are designed to safely store smaller battery packs on shelves. They suit a number of applications such as a test room or as intermediate storage of faulty batteries before transportation to an appropriate recycling centre that specifically handles Li-ion batteries, where you can be sure they will be properly recycled.

Our walk-in store designs come with a number of options available, including additional safety features to tailor the store to your specific application. Emtez stores are manufactured using a rolled, hollow-section, welded frame, providing structural strength, while the walls, hinged door(s), and roof are fitted with fire-rated panels to provide up to two-hour (120 minutes) fire rating. All of these components are also welded to the frame.

CBWI03D11900 – 3M walk-in store

• Number of doors: 2
• Retention Volume: 950l
• External dimensions (WxDxH): 3530 x 2710 x 2635mm
• Internal dimensions (WxDxH): 2930 x 2300 x 2100mm
• Weight: 2100kg

CBWI04D11900 – 4M walk-in store

• Number of doors: 2
• Retention Volume: 1300l
• External dimensions (WxDxH): 4600 x 2710 x 2635mm
• Internal dimensions (WxDxH): 4000 x 2300 x 2100mm
• Weight: 2600kg

CBWI06D11900 – 6M walk-in store

• Number of doors: 2
• Retention Volume: 1900l
• External dimensions (WxDxH): 6510 x 2710 x 2635mm
• Internal dimensions (WxDxH): 5910 x 2300 x 2100mm
• Weight: 3500kg

Fire-rated battery containers

For maximum storage space, fire-rated battery containers are recommended. Offering a large storage capacity for batteries of varying shapes and sizes in pallets across multiple levels, these storage solutions are ideal for businesses with large or 24/7 operations and a heavy reliance on Li-ion batteries to power them.

Our Li-ion battery containers contain shelves fitted with galvanised grid mesh to fully support each pallet. As with our walk-in stores, this unit is constructed from a rolled, hollow-section, welded frame and fire-rated walls, hinged doors, and roof offering a two-hour (120 minute) fire rating.

Containers - swing door

1.5M Container 

3M Container

4M Container

6M Container 

8M Container 

Containers - slide door

3M Container

6M Container

8M Container

Bespoke storage solutions for specialist requirements

Safety isn’t one-size-fits all. To put this another way, there will always be times when the environment requires specialist solutions tailored to one organisation’s needs. 

As a UK manufacturer accredited to ISO 9001, 14001, and 45001, we’re in a unique position to offer you expert advice on Li-ion battery storage. Whether you’re looking for a bespoke size, an exclusive colour, or a fire suppression system, our team of designers and engineers is expertly placed to help you create a bespoke solution suited to your specifications.

Examples of bespoke units we have previously created include:

1. Automotive Lithium-Ion Battery Storage

Emtez manufactured a bespoke surveillance and fire prevention container for the storage of quarantined, damaged, or defective high-power batteries for a large car manufacturer.

Each battery will be placed in an individual compartment. If one battery catches fire, it will be submerged in a cooling liquid/water, controlling the spread of fire to the other cells of the battery.

Other features and benefits included:

• Double detection system (sensor/thermal camera)
• Hazardous gas extractor
• Fire-rated to at least 120 minutes of protection
• Overpressure relief valve
• Failure alarm of any security element

To find out more, read the full case study.

2. Cidaut Drive-In and Transport Container

This bespoke container stores electric vehicles with damaged or defective batteries. 

A vehicle’s battery would be submerged in a coolant/water, for a maximum of 8-10 minutes, minimising the spread of fire to the other battery cells. The cooling liquid/water is then recirculated to dissipate the heat.

Other features and benefits included:

• Suppression systems with integrated tanks
• Accessible ramp for vehicle drive-in
• Fire-rated to at least 120 minutes of protection
• Capable of storing electric cars with an internal battery

To find out more, read the full Cidaut case study.

3. Lithium-Ion Battery Drive-In

This unit was manufactured to a one-hour fire rating and the purpose was to store and quarantine in-use batteries from the production area. The batteries were carried around on a trolley by an AGV (automated guided vehicle).

The unit was designed so that the AGV could drop the trolley in the unit and drive away. To enable the trolley to stay in the unit without rolling towards the door, sprung plates were added to the design to hold it in place.

The unit was designed to sit at the end of a loading bay platform and required FLT (forklift truck) pockets so it could easily be moved in the event of an emergency.

Other features and benefits included:

• Tempered glass window for battery inspection.
• Hydrogen/smoke detection
• Hose valve and internal pipe sprinkler system for fire brigade connection

Solutions to prevent your fire from spreading

Li-ion fires burn hot and spread fast. How you run your operations will have a huge impact on the condition, lifespan, and safety risks associated with your Li-ion batteries. But so will the storage solutions into which you invest. The most responsible operators leverage both these approaches and hope they never have to rely on either to keep their people safe.

But if they do, they have more to lean back on than a process. Policies are great at keeping people safe. So is fire-rated panelling, welded to its frame. How could you use both to make your operations fire-safe?

To download your copy of our four-step risk assessment checklist for lithium-ion batteries, click here.