Safety aspects of zinc/bromine batteries powering electric vehicles

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Safety aspects of zinc/bromine batteries powering electric vehicles

Marincic, N.

Safety in handling of zinc/bromine batteries and in operation of electric vehicles powered by these batteries has been under intensified scrutiny particularly since the incident at the 1992 electric car races in Phoenix Arizona involving a competitor's battery of similar technology. Powercell Corporation, the new owner of the Exxon license and of the Austrian SEA production facility, conducted the review of this technology jointly with Exxon Research, Collmer Semiconductor and the University of California at Davis in preparation for the 1994 competition. This paper is addressing some of the requirements that had to be met as condition for approval by the Solar and Electric Racing Association for competition in 1994. The design requirements, the operating limits and the inspection requirements were imposed upon the battery, the vehicle and the infrastructure. The requirements covered normal operations such as the handling of battery chemicals, battery shock hazards, normal battery discharge and charging. The abnormal operations requirements covered battery overcharge, rapid discharge, control system failure, cooling system failure and electrolyte pump failure. The requirements in case of accident covered stack feed tube failure, electrolyte pump discharge piping failure and vehicle collision. These requirements are addressed following a brief consideration related to thermal characteristics of the zinc/bromine electrochemical system.