Lithium battery fires: the 10-point safety checklist every boat owner needs

Resilient to heavy hundreds, longer lasting, smarter and, some would argue, cheaper over the long run; lithium batteries know-how is now turning into extra mainstream on yachts.

Used not just for home batteries, lithium additionally powers propulsion on some new fashions. Many cruisers now have capability to reside aboard a yacht in the same option to a home, with far much less energy restriction.

The MCA lately issued a steering word on lithium battery set up to present a framework for finest observe. Whereas the recommendation leans in the direction of commercially coded yachts, it highlights extra common concern round lithium know-how.

Since lithium has change into extra mainstream, there have been quite a few fires on yachts, some inflicting a complete loss. The word covers key elements together with set up course of, system design, air flow and cooling – all potential vulnerabilities of a lithium system. The message total is {that a} lithium set up, whether or not retrofit or on a brand new construct yacht, must be taken severely.

Getting it proper

At current, the one kind of lithium batteries authorized for set up on yachts are Lithium-Ion-Phosphate or LFP. While it is likely to be tempting to make use of cheaper lithium varieties similar to nickel or cobalt, these are much more susceptible to thermal runaway – an uncontrolled collection of reactions which trigger a fast enhance in temperature, and sometimes an uncontrolled hearth.

Putting in batteries incorrectly can routinely invalidate your yacht’s insurance coverage coverage. What constitutes an accurate set up is extra layered than with older battery know-how, however insurance coverage corporations have been clear they’re not inherently against house owners utilizing lithium. Excessive present ranges, a necessity for secure containment in case of failure and the necessity for a correct battery administration system imply that it’s essential to hunt knowledgeable recommendation and/or set up.

A information hole

William Taryn was a firefighter in each California and Mallorca earlier than beginning to train firefighting to yacht crew. He now has his personal hearth security coaching enterprise in Palma, Maritime Security Options, whereas remaining a serving firefighter within the metropolis. Over the previous few years he has change into closely concerned in yacht lithium battery security.

“As lithium battery methods began to be put in on yachts, we started to see fires right here within the metropolis. We rapidly realized extra about lithium know-how and what results in lithium fires. There are many elements to having lithium on board a ship and it’s not simply the yacht’s batteries, as many yachts now carry issues like e-bikes with lithium batteries, and the storage of them needs to be thought-about too. “Put merely, lithium know-how is in all types of issues that you just would possibly discover on board.”

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Taryn’s enterprise now consults to yachts constructed with lithium battery methods, together with coaching their crew, growing working manuals and methods for every particular yacht. A 47m hybrid yacht, able to operating totally on battery energy, was the primary of those consulting tasks.

“We seemed on the battery rooms intimately, then developed a set of procedures the crew might work with to maintain issues secure. It’s fairly layered on such an enormous yacht and the emergency procedures particular to the batteries should be understood by all crew.”

Taryn labored with crew coaching and recruitment firm Bluewater Yachting to foyer for modifications to the STCW course for skilled crew. Due to their efforts, it is going to quickly embody a firefighting part on lithium.

DIY lithium methods ought to contain a marine electrician to make sure appropriate set up. Photograph: Will Bruton

An impression examine

In February final yr INEOS Britannia’s AC40 suffered an on-board hearth throughout coaching off Barcelona. Whereas crusing the crew needed to react rapidly to smoke pouring out of a ahead hatch. They and their chase boat deployed hearth extinguishers, adopted by water being pumped in by means of the ahead hatch, and have been happily capable of comprise the hearth.

The offender was a lithium battery that had skilled what’s referred to as ‘thermal runaway’. Taryn quickly discovered himself tasked with investigating. “In that case the battery hearth had successfully been attributable to repeated impression. These yachts bounce round rather a lot and an extra of this had induced thermal runaway which, as soon as it begins, could be very arduous to cease,” he explains.

Different incidents have been extra excessive. In July 2023 a lithium battery hearth at a marina within the Florida Keys induced one loss of life and led to 2 folks being critically injured. An e-bike stored on board a yacht had fallen within the water earlier within the day. The battery had then been saved in a wood cupboard containing flares.

The British America’s Cup crew’s AC40 yacht suffered a lithium hearth on board, which the crew was happily capable of comprise at sea. Photograph: Ugo Fonola/America’s Cup

And a lithium battery hearth was suspected to be the reason for the deaths of two cruisers discovered deceased of their lifeboat in British Columbia in 2022. The couple – Canadian Brett Clibbery and Briton Sarah Packwood – have been crossing the Atlantic on their Gib’Sea 42 Theros.

No misery name was acquired from Theros, however one crew was discovered carrying a flotation swimsuit that was severely hearth broken. Theros was understood to have been retrofitted with an electrical automobile battery.

Taking precautions

The STCW (Requirements of Coaching, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers) is a framework for business operations that has now advanced to take lithium know-how under consideration, however what sensible steps is likely to be taken for leisure sailors? Right set up is essential, explains Taryn.

“Consideration of how the batteries are contained, how they’re remoted, how they’re ventilated, and the way they is likely to be extinguished are all essential to consider.”

Proteng hearth sticks can put out any materials that has ignited

One problem is how the extinguishing system truly matches in. “Since I began to get entangled with enhancing security round lithium on board, one product has actually stood out to me,” Taryn says. The Proteng hearth suppression system may be fitted into battery areas and requires no wiring. It prompts above a sure temperature, shattering its personal polymide container, at which level the retardant liquid turns into a fuel and covers every part in a effective movie.

Construct challenges

So, if utilizing lithium is so loaded with security issues, why do it? The upsides are large. Batteries can deal with heavy hundreds, making them properly suited to a yacht geared up with creature comforts; even air-conditioning methods may be run comparatively immediately from the batteries.

Battery life cycles are for much longer, balancing out their a lot greater preliminary buy price. The problem the business and house owners face is in ensuring installations meet the extra exacting necessities of lithium. Battery compartments have to be fastidiously thought by means of, contemplating how they’re ventilated, but additionally how they could comprise a fireplace ought to it happen.

Lithium battery methods are able to supplying excessive present immediately. Photograph: Mastervolt

While that is comparatively easy for brand spanking new construct yachts, it’s way more complicated for these retrofitting lithium; a straight swap into the identical location is probably not potential. The MCA steering word is prone to form the framework that flag states contemplating regulation undertake. This implies commercially coded yachts might have to speculate to satisfy regulatory necessities for lithium know-how on board. It’s an element to think about for any house owners contemplating constitution.

For one main luxurious yacht builder we talked to, who didn’t need to be named, it has proved a major problem for yachts already in construct. “For anybody trying to set up lithium, the only and most easy recommendation at this stage is solely to do it correctly, being attentive to the factors raised by the MCA steering word, whereas utilizing an skilled and certified electrician,” explains Taryn.

High suggestions for a secure and efficient lithium battery set up

Select the precise chemistry – Persist with LiFePO₄ (Lithium Iron Phosphate). It’s essentially the most secure, with a decrease danger of thermal runaway.
Set up a correct battery administration system (BMS) – A strong, marine-rated BMS is non-negotiable. It ought to deal with cell balancing, over/under-voltage safety, temperature monitoring, and disconnects. Go for methods with unbiased cell-level monitoring reasonably than simply pack-level.
Air flow and site – Set up batteries in a cool, dry, and well-ventilated area. Lithium doesn’t off-gas underneath regular use, however airflow helps maintain temperatures secure.
Overcurrent safety – Match appropriately rated fuses and breakers as near the battery as potential. Lithium can dump enormous currents immediately – excess of lead-acid – so cable and fuse sizing is essential to keep away from electrical fires.
Separate charging profiles – Guarantee all chargers (shore energy, alternator regulators, photo voltaic controllers, wind mills) are configured for lithium. Overcharging or floating at lead-acid voltages will shorten battery life or trigger failures.
Alternator safety – Lithium’s low resistance can burn out a inventory alternator. Set up a DC-DC charger or exterior alternator regulator to make sure secure charging limits.
Temperature safeguards – By no means cost lithium beneath 0°C – this causes lithium plating and might result in failure. Make sure the BMS has low-temp cut-off or set up heating pads in colder climates.
Cabling and connections – Use correctly crimped marine-grade cables with no undersizing. Poor connections can overheat underneath lithium’s greater hundreds. Maintain runs brief and secured in opposition to chafe and vibration.
Redundancy and handbook override – Think about a handbook disconnect swap or emergency isolator that bypasses electronics if the BMS shuts down in a essential state of affairs at sea (whereas nonetheless conserving fusing in place).
Observe requirements and finest observe – Check with ABYC E-13, ISO 13297, and producer set up guides.

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