Hydrofluoric Acid Fire
at
Tesla Battery Energy Storage System
Calvin Luther Martin, PhD
July 30, 2021
Note
The reason I urge you to watch this Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) go up in smoke is because all solar and, now, wind energy plants around the world have these batteries installed onsite. The problem is the lithium-ion batteries: when they burn, they produce hydrogen fluoride gas, that is, hydrofluoric acid. If you're a fireman or live downwind, you're in trouble. (Now that you have read this note, click the X in the upper right corner and, poof, it will disappear.
#1 The Company (Victoria, Australia)
"The Victorian Big Battery"
#2 The Fire (July 29, 2021)
On July 29, 2021, one of these Battery Energy Storage System containers self-ignited and went into thermal runaway. Watch the video, below.
Thermal runaway? Click here to read about it.
It’s the smoke you want to be concerned about. It contains hydrofluoric acid from the combusted lithium hexafluorophosphate in the lithium-ion batteries. You can read about this, as well, by clicking here.
#3 Watch the fire video, below
Play Video
#4 The elephant in the room
#5 The story
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2 thoughts on “Hydrofluoric Acid Fire at Tesla Battery Energy Storage System”
As a former chemistry instructor I can attest to the dangers of hydrofluoric acid. I once spilled a few drops on my fingers and immediately washed it off. Severe burns required weeks of bandages.
HF has a great affinity for water-forming hydrofluoric acid. Tesla battery fires readily form acid in water being sprayed on the fire. Firefighters are often told to stand down if no lives are in danger.
WE NEED NEW BATTERY TECNOLOGY FOR ELECTRIC CARS!
Note that the explosive power ripped open the siding of the container and lifted the roof off the container.
Note that 2 shipping-container size modules of batteries are placed side-by-side to form one unit. Typically a shipping-size container contains about 2MW of batteries. So at least 4MW of batteries were involved in that fire/explosion.
The site appears to be designed to take 160 shipping-size containers of batteries, or about 320MW.
Note that 150 firemen were onsite, yet they were reduced to watching the battery containers burn out/incinerate! Cooling the flames only prolongs the burning and using water is unadvisable.
Towns up to 6-7 kilometres away were advised to stay indoors, close windows and doors, bring pets inside and close up fireplace flues. What about the wildlife and farm animals?
Note the low-lying toxic lethal hydrogen fluoride gases/acid escaping–slow to dissipate.
Note how close the coastal populated areas are to these non-defusable, ticking, toxic, lithium-ion battery bombs. What if the whole 160 containers went on fire/exploded? They might yet.
Anyone else think the Fire Chief had breathing difficulties whilst reporting to the media?
These lithium-ion battery bombs are the land mines of today! Here are more news reports:
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/fire-breaks-out-during-testing-of-victorian-big-battery-near-geelong-20210730-p58eh4.html
https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/victoria-s-tesla-big-battery-catches-fire-20210730-p58eg7
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/30/tesla-megapack-caught-fire-at-victorian-big-battery-site-in-australia.html
https://www.engadget.com/tesla-megapack-fire-victorian-big-battery-105535797.html
Anyone find it bizarre that the bulk of these toxic, ticking, lethal, non defusable battery bombs are being rapidly deployed during the so called global pandemic?