GelTech Solutions, Inc. announced that testing of its FireIce Fire Extinguisher by the Fire & Risk Alliance (FRA) has shown conclusively that FireIce was able to successfully suppress a lithium-ion battery fire in runaway as well as prevent re-ignition.
In a controlled laboratory test conducted at the University of Maryland's Fire Testing and Evaluation Center (FireTEC), FireIce was tested directly against a Halon fire extinguisher. Halon, or a similarly equivalent extinguisher, is currently mandated by the Federal Aviation Administration to be aboard all aircraft flying in U.S. airspace. While both extinguishers were able to suppress the initial fire caused by an overheated lithium-ion battery pack, only the FireIce Fire Extinguisher prevented re-ignition and runaway.
Along with the exponential growth in the use of Li-ion batteries has come increased safety concerns, most notably in the airline industry. Lithium batteries are carried by virtually every passenger on board an aircraft. The risk of fire occurring during charging, especially in damaged devices, has increased significantly with the recent development of USB ports and electric plugs becoming more prevalent on passenger planes.
Lithium batteries are already considered hazardous materials for shipping, and many carriers have voluntarily banned air transport of lithium batteries in bulk because onboard extinguishment systems are not capable of suppressing lithium battery fires.
Most of the industry and regulatory focus to date has been on the manufacturing process to make lithium batteries safer and less likely to catch on fire, or containment in case of a fire, which is difficult due to the potential of extremely high temperatures.
Michael Reger, president of GelTech, stated, "FireIce, which is already capable of extinguishing fires too hot for water or traditional extinguishers, has the ability not only to extinguish lithium battery fires, but can also stop batteries from going into runaway."
"It is now abundantly clear that under certain conditions, lithium batteries pose a serious fire risk with potentially devastating results. Having successfully completed our side-by-side test at UMD, we are now actively exploring our options to bring a FireIce solution to the market."
