Navalt initiated the Deep Dive series of webinars with focus on Safety of Solar electric boats. The first webinar was focussed on battery and how it can enable safety of the boat. The experts included R Srinivas, Vice President at Indian Register Of Shipping, Maarten Moon, Founder CEO at M-Lab Testing and I shared our experience of designing, building, operating and maintaining solar electric boats for the past one decade.
Summarise my talk:
- Why is Battery Safety important
- MF YTTEROYNINGEN (2019) – Coolant leak, short circuit, thermal runaway of modules
- Victorian Big Battery, Tesla (2021) – Liquid cooling leak causing arcing, thermal runaway. 2/212 containers total 300 MWh caught fire.
- MS BRIN (2021) – Seawater ingress through ventilation outlet, short-circuit, electric arc, fire
- All 3 accidents were NMC or NCA chemistries which are relatively unstable compared to LFP or LTO.
- Summarised all the possible issues in battery – cell manufacturing, module assembly, system integration, boat operation.
- Types of lithium chemistry. Why LFP and LTO are ideal choices in marine transport unlike automobile using safety and performance criteria.
- Apart from this economics is important criteria. How in the case of example of passenger ferry at low speed 10 knots or less and range of 150 km or less, LFP is better choice than LTO. Pointed out the recent mistakes done in KMRL case as well as WB ferry project.
- Safety tests in cell, BMS, module and system level.
- Best practices like insulation, ventilation, sensors, safety level indicators, remote monitoring, shore charging safety measures
Sandith Thandasherry 