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| Regulators Probe EV Batteries, After The Chevy Volt Fire |
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said he believes the Volt and other electric vehicles are more prone to fire than those with gasoline engines, but said he has requested information from manufacturers for automotive lithium ion and recommendations to minimize the risk of fire.
GM and other automakers said they had confidence in the technology that is being deployed in the cars of electric current and the next wave of hybrid cars. Prius from Toyota Motor Corp., which dominates the hybrid market is driven by the old nickel-metal hydride battery technology.
Crash tests of the Volt, which carries a package of 400 pounds lithium-ion battery, made in May last year at a plant in Wisconsin, NHTSA said.Regulators Probe EV Batteries, After The Chevy Volt Fire
The fire did not erupt more than three weeks after the side impact test, and because the fire has not been determined, the agency said.
Regulators Probe EV Batteries, After The Chevy Volt Fire
GM has said it was not aware of other fires volts. Senior officials from NHTSA said the agency has not received any consumer complaints about fires in GM or any other electric vehicles.GM and NHTSA conducted follow-up tests and could not repeat the fire. The agency plans further tests electric car battery with Energy Department experts in the coming weeks.
"I want to say very clearly: The Volt is a safe car," Jim Federico, chief engineer at GM for electric vehicles, said in a statement.
South Korean battery manufacturer LG Chem Ltd., which provides the Volt battery cells, said in a statement that is "fully aware of the situation and working closely with GM and NHTSA in the investigation."
A range of new electric vehicles, including models and future Volt Tesla Motors Inc. and Fisker, are driven by the type of batteries that have been used in consumer electronics. These batteries provide the energy they need electric vehicles, but the current generation of lithium ion batteries also tend to overheat.
If security problems are slowing the adoption of electric vehicles, which could jeopardize the goal of President Barack Obama to put a million electric vehicles on the road in 2015. To further this goal, the Department of Energy has provided about U.S. $ 2.5 billion of financing for companies in the battery manufacturers, automotive and related companies. Obama "green economy" agenda is being criticized by Republicans in Congress, whose criticism has included some self-financed investment by the taxpayer.
Ron Cogan, editor of Green Car Journal, said he expects the technology of electric vehicles and the automakers would develop would be the development of new guarantees, as they have 100 years of experience with gasoline engines.
"Things happen in catastrophic vehicle accidents, any type of fuel and obviously intelligent ways of managing these on the fly," he said.
Clarence Ditlow and the Center for Auto Safety in Washington advocacy group, said that the more complicated a car, the more likely it will be a serious problem.
"The challenge is to get GM on top of this as quickly as possible. The last thing you want to have volts to fire," said Ditlow.
GM and other automakers said they have built-in protection to the vehicle battery packs that would keep the batteries from overheating in the kind of "thermal runaway" event, where a cell overheated causing a fire.
"I'd rather be riding on top of a battery of a fuel tank," said Jason Forcier, vice president and chief operating automotive battery maker A123 Systems Inc.. "It's much, much safer."
A123 battery chemistry different from that of the Volt is it called "very, very safe." A123 makes batteries for Fisker Karma Hybrid BMW 3 - and 5-series cars will be published next year, and GM all-electric Chevrolet Spark is due in 2013.
"Spillover" effect?
Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., the only major automaker with an all-electric car, Leaf, said the battery is different, it runs cooler than the Volt. Nissan has recognized the problems with renewable energy technologies could make some consumers nervous.
"Of course, a competitor has problems with their system, there will always be some form of contagion, but our product is on its own," explains Bob Yakushi, director of product safety for Nissan North America.
Nissan officials said there were no reports of fires Leaf. Approximately 17 500 Leafs have been sold worldwide, including 8,000 in the United States.
U.S. consumers have been slow to adopt electric vehicles and batteries, in part because of their additional costs. Pure electric vehicles Leaf also has a limited range before recharging.
The Volt is gas-powered 1.4-liter offers more variety then rose to about 40 miles fully charged battery.
GM sold about 5000 volts. The plug-in hybrids cost $ 40,000 before tax credits for consumption $ 7,500.
Separately, Duke Energy Corp. advised 125 clients to avoid using the newly installed Siemens home charging stations for electric cars until a probe with a garage fire in North Carolina is over, said the door speaker Paige Layne.
GM shares were 12 cents in late trading on the NYSE at $ 22.58.
Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said he did not expect a lasting impact on GM shares, even if the "negative feelings" may continue for several weeks.
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