[SSDiv6]

I addressed the risks and use of Lithium batteries with NHRA in October 2016. Had a long phone conversation with Bruce Bachelder on the subject and he asked me to provide some technical information so he could share with others at NHRA, which I did a few days later. Of course, nothing came about it.

While still working at Boeing, I was part of the industry team as regards to the Lithium battery fires that took place on the Boeing 787 airplanes. As an outcome of the investigation, there were a lot of changes not only on the battery designs, but also on the provisions and installation.
As an example, we ended designing, manufacturing, and installing a stainless steel box enclosure with a vent to the exterior of the fuselage for venting the fumes on all the 787 airplanes. SInce at the time there were already fires that had taken place at various tracks with Lithium batteries, especially people buying Chinese made cells on eBay and building their own, at the time I suggested consideration to requiring a metal enclosure for Lithium batteries.

Unknown to me at the time was the number of events by various types of Lithium powered devices that had taken place since 1991 through 2016 on commercial flights, with Li-ion, Lithium-ion, Lithium Metal, Lithium Ion/Polymer, and Lithium Sulphur Dioxide batteries.

Let's not forget the number of fires we see all the time on social media of EV's, including a cargo ship fire due to an EV.

If I am going to err, I will err towards safety, especially when you have batteries sitting next to a fuel cell in most cars. Therefore, when I am asked about batteries, I recommend the LifeLine AGM racing batteries, or their Lithium Iron Phosphate battery that also has the BMS protection system.