Renault's Fiery Gift Is A Blaze of Glory for EV Safety
Image Credit: Renault.
The French, known for their "joie de vivre" and questionable driving habits, have actually done something genuinely useful. No, it's not a new, even more ludicrously small city car. It's something that could actually save lives, and property, and prevent firefighters from spending their entire shift dousing a battery fire that seems determined to burn until the Earth cools down.
Renault has decided to share their clever "Fireman Access" system with the rest of the automotive world. It's the automotive equivalent of giving away the recipe for a cure for the common cold, only instead of a runny nose, we're talking about a car that's decided to spontaneously combust.
I'm not one to gush over car manufacturers, especially not the ones who think adding a "sport" button to a front-wheel-drive hatchback makes it a performance car. But this has the potential to change everything. It's not too different from Volvo deciding to share the secret of the seatbelt back in the day. Remember that? A simple three-point harness that's saved countless lives. Renault's move could be just as significant.
Image Credit: Renault.
The problem, as you may or may not know, is that electric car fires are a right royal pain in the posterior. Once those lithium-ion batteries decide to go into a thermal runaway – which, in layman's terms, means they get hotter than a jalapeno in a sauna and then explode – it's like trying to put out a bonfire with a squirt gun. Firefighters can spend hours, nay, days, trying to cool the blighters down. They use so much water, you'd think they were trying to recreate the French Riviera in the middle of a parking lot.
Renault's solution? It's surprisingly simple, which is often the case with brilliant ideas. They've basically created a small, adhesive disc that covers a hole in the battery casing. In normal use, it seals the hole nicely. But in the event of a fire, when the flames reach the battery, a well-aimed jet of water from a firehose triggers a mechanism that dislodges the disc, allowing the water to get inside the battery cells and, hopefully, prevent the dreaded thermal runaway. Of course, it requires the fire brigade to get there quickly enough. But it's a huge step in the right direction.
Now, some of you might be thinking, "But I've heard Teslas are always catching fire!" Well, while they do get a lot of press for it, the truth is, hybrid vehicles might actually be more prone to battery fires. The most common cause of car fires, however, remains good old-fashioned fuel leaks in internal combustion engines. But electric car batteries are much bigger, and that makes them a bigger potential hazard when things go wrong.
Image Credit: Renault.
Renault's CEO, Luca de Meo, has even said that this is all part of their commitment to road safety. He's talking the talk, and now they're walking the walk. They're even working with the United Nations to make mobility safer worldwide. It's all very noble and commendable.
So, will this put Renault in the automotive hall of fame, right next to Volvo and their seatbelt? I don't know - but it's a damn good start. If other manufacturers adopt this technology, or something similar, it could make electric cars significantly safer. And that, my friends, is something worth raising a glass of champagne (or perhaps a fire extinguisher) to.
