By Tom Ewing
In August, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy held a webinar titled “Battery Safety Post-Incident Stakeholder Meeting.”
DOT’s central focus was on electric vehicles (EVs)—particularly autos and light trucks. For port and warehouse managers, however, the webinar raised issues that deserve a close look.
After all, federal energy officials are pushing to replace fossil-fuel powered cargo handling equipment (CHE) with electric powered equipment (e-CHE). The latter is powered by multiple lithium batteries grouped together into what federal officials refer to as REESS—rechargeable electrical energy storage systems.
Even if ports are slow to adopt e-CHE they’ll be impacted by an increasing number of electric powered heavy trucks. An incident in a port setting holds different consequences than an accident on a relatively open road or highway.
Post-Incident Means Planning
The “post-incident” term doesn’t imply a passive look-back in order to complete a report. In this instance, “post-incident” means action. In some cases, almost immediate action—such as an urgent evaluation of risks of explosion or shock from a damaged vehicle.
Post-incident could mean collecting and decontaminating fire department water runoff. Or finding isolated storage for a damaged lithium-ion battery vehicle because it can remain flammable and explosive after an incident.
In a port’s industrial setting, it could mean decontaminating a warehouse because of toxic and explosive smoke and gases or cleaning up and proper disposal of PFAS (Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance) compounds.
PFAS are a large, complex group of synthetic chemicals that have been used in consumer products around the world.
The August webinar presented new, ongoing research, but no final answers. Speakers and panelists addressed fire incident response, issues with trucks and heavy vehicles, emerging battery technologies and challenges with “stranded energy”—i.e., energy remaining in a damaged battery, presenting a safety hazard known as “thermal runaway.”
In addition to DOT staff, the webinar included personnel from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).
REESS systems vary in construction, chemistry and the software designed to instantaneously keep thousands of cells coordinated and under control. Energy officials stress that EV fires and related emergencies are far less frequent than fires in vehicles with internal combustion engines. But EV fires present unique dangers and are difficult to extinguish.
Victoria Hutchison, a senior research project manager for NFPA’s research foundation, was a webinar speaker and panelist. She said an EV fire takes 60-90 minutes to extinguish and requires thousands of gallons, usually more water than can be carried in a tanker truck.
Internal combustion engine fires take 30 minutes and about 500 gallons to extinguish, she said.
Hutchison also said that lithium-ion batteries are a common technology for e-CHE and there is a scale up for cargo equipment.
“Generally speaking, if there is a demand for more energy/capacity or range, the (battery) packs will typically be larger,” she explained. “But it is all based on the same battery cell—it’s simply how many cells or modules (grouping of cells) are in the battery, to meet the capacity or range demands.”
She said that lithium battery fires are particularly difficult because they serve as fuel for a fire and they can release their own oxygen. The battery pack also is shielded, making it difficult to get water directly to the fuel source.
The same challenges would apply to container-handling equipment; access to the battery pack would be a major factor for firefighters.
Hutchison was asked about worksites and accidents.
“There are a number of scenarios that could occur, but they typically all come back to a core set of failure modes such as overheating and an internal/external short circuit or overcharge or over discharge,” she said. “The concern is exposing the battery system to an environment or scenario that can trigger thermal runaway.”
In addition, REESS hazardous gases and smoke require advanced personal protective equipment for firefighters, she explained. This can degrade to a post-incident scene in which safety is difficult to evaluate. With lithium batteries, fires thought to be extinguished have self-ignited hours or days later, presenting a devilish hazard for “secondary responders,” i.e., tow truck drivers and personnel at storage sites.
A significant portion of the webinar dealt with research and development underway to avoid accidents. Last April, in a Federal Register notice, the NHTSA proposed new requirements and test procedures to enhance electric vehicle safety, including a requirement for an audio and visual warning if a thermal event occurs in the REESS and a warning—like a “check engine” light—to alert drivers that the controls that manage REESS operation have failed.
Another significant proposal is for REESS manufacturers to develop emergency response guides (ERGs) for every battery propulsion system they make. This information would be available online for first responders. The NHTSA would establish and maintain the database.
ERGs already are prepared by manufacturers, but filing is voluntary. NHTSA’s proposal would set filing requirements and standardize the system, making it more expansive and dependable for firefighters.
The NHTSA wants emergency response guides to be vehicle specific, again, because of varying electric designs and development.
“Currently, the ERGs and rescue sheets on the NFPA website are not available for all vehicle makes, models, and model years,” federal officials said. “The agency tentatively believes that requiring information on all vehicles is necessary to best reduce response times and the safety risks to emergency responders.”
‘External Fault Inputs’
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was asked about DOT’s post-incident webinar and whether OSHA and the Department of Labor evaluating possible workplace hazards from REESS cargo equipment. A spokesperson said that OSHA “continues to evaluate workplace safety and health hazards associated with the manufacture, use, maintenance and disposal of lithium-ion batteries” and that the agency is working to expand its “understanding of potential hazards associated with these devices.”
Additionally, the spokesperson said that OSHA is developing a guidance for “the safe use of this rapidly emerging technology.” This includes a fact sheet for lithium-ion battery safety.
On their own, and undisturbed, REESS systems are safe, and random or spontaneous dangerous events are rare, proponents say, while adding that accidents and extreme events—such as submersion in water, say, after a hurricane—can change that.
The NHTSA uses the term “external fault inputs” when referencing external events and impacts. External fault inputs include overcharge, over discharge, overcurrent, external short circuit and/or operations at extreme high and low temperatures.
Regulators write that the safety proposal would “ensure that REESS operations are within the manufacturer-specified functional range and increase the likelihood of safe operation of the (vehicle’s) REESS and other electrical systems.”
At a worksite, container-handing equipment is not usually endangered by high speeds and crashes, a top concern for the NHTSA and its automotive focus.
But what are the worksite “external fault inputs” that might mimic a high-speed crash? Could an “external fault input” result when a slow-moving rail car strikes a powered yard tractor?
Maintenance staff frequently remove and replace battery systems in order to keep a machine powered and working and handling increases risks. Are there worksite maintenance proposals to ensure that e-cargo operations stay within the manufacturer’s specified functional range and increase the likelihood of safe operation?
Firefighters—and an entire fire scene—would likely benefit from web access to a specific e-CHE emergency response guide.
The Heart of the Matter
It’s difficult to determine how e-CHE manufacturing companies are advising customers about REESS post-incident planning or the extent to which they’re focusing on it. Ditto for warehouse and logistics companies.
Shipping giant APM Maersk is a strong e-CHE advocate. Last October, APM Terminals, along with the Port of Rotterdam, DP World, a Dubai-based multinational logistics company, and other maritime sponsors, published a white paper called “Reaching a Tipping Point in Battery-Electric Container Handling Equipment.”
The white paper cites a need for a “call to action for the entire port ecosystem and container-handling equipment value chain to accelerate toward a tipping point for battery electric.
APM Terminals was asked about U.S. efforts, at least with transport REESS, to develop emergency guides and whether such specific information would be valuable for e-CHEs and, more broadly, whether post-incident planning is part of their overall message.
An APM spokesperson said that workplace safety is a key priority and that as it promotes and adopts e-CHE, the company is completing “risk assessments and updating emergency response plans to address the new risks introduced.”
The spokesperson explained that APM works with institutes like Australian EV research initiative EVfiresafe and local fire departments “to improve our standards.”
Through these collaborative efforts, APM has updated its emergency response guides.
The spokesperson noted the very low risk of fire for normal REESS operations but did not mention higher risks associated with “external fault inputs.” Regarding emergency guides from manufacturers, the spokesperson suggested contacting those companies.
“Some would have those risk assessments,” the spokesperson noted, and added, “but it would be their decision to distribute.”
Depending on when NHTSA finalizes its REESS proposals, it won’t be a decision for auto and truck companies about making such guides publicly available. They will be required to do so.
The question is whether industrial REESS manufacturers should face that same requirement.
Tom Ewing is a freelance writer specializing in energy, environmental and related regulatory issues.