top of page

Battery and EV Fire Safety

 

Facing the crisis of fossil fuel depletion, global warming, and climate change, Li-ion battery is perceived as the most promising solution for the alternative energy source. However, the frequent occurrence of battery fire poses a severe threat to public safety, becoming a significant obstacle for further developing and applying electric vehicles (EVs). Compared with conventional fire, the fire hazards exhibited by Li-ion batteries are immensely disparate in initiation route, spread rate, duration, toxicity, and suppression. 

2013-Tesla-Model-S-fire-796x528.jpg
2026-06-22_184220.png

Our research focuses on the thermal runaway characteristics of Li-ion batteries under various conditions and the fire protection technologies of the battery pack for electric vehicles. Through experiments and numerical simulations, we are designing new materials to mitigate battery fire and a sophisticated fire protection strategy for battery energy storage systems. The research outcomes will not only support the future development of safe high-energy batteries but also help lay a good scientific foundation for the emerging development of fire-safe EVs.

Funding:

  • Development of Key Technology and Equipment for Whole Process Safety of Coupled Electrochemical Energy Storage Station, Key-Area Research and Development Program of Guangdong Province, RMB 3.2M, co-PI, 2024 – 2026

  • Key Technology Development of International Li-ion Battery Energy Storage Safety Evaluation, National Key R&D Program of China, RMB 8.5M, Co-I, 2023 – 2025 

  • Lithium-ion Battery fire dynamics under extreme storage and transport environment and smart fire detection, Shenzhen Municipal Science and Technology Innovation Commission, HK$ 0.5M, 2022 – 2025.

  • Self-heating ignition and fire hazards of high-energy lithium-ion batteries, RGC Early Stage Scheme (ECS), HK$ 0.7M, 2019 - 2022;

  • Study on spread of thermal runaway and fire safety of Li-ion battery, Shanghai Science and Technology Innovative Project Fund, HK$ 0.5M, 2020 - 2022; 

Representative publications:​​

  1. L. Zhang, Y. Su, Y. Zhang, P. Sun, C. Ye, Y. Liu, X. Huang (2025) Early Emergency Cooling for Mitigating the Onset of Battery Thermal Runaway, Journal of Energy Storage, 117820. doi: 10.1016/j.est.2025.117820 

  2. Z. Wang, H. Sadeghi, X. Huang, F. Restuccia (2024) Thermal runaway and flame propagation in battery packs: Numerical simulation and deep learning prediction, Engineering Applications of Computational Fluid Mechanics, 19(1), 2445160. 

  3. Y. Liu, G. Aldan, X. Huang, M. Hao (2023) Single-phase static immersion cooling for cylindrical lithium-ion battery module, Applied Thermal Engineering, 233, 121184.

  4. H. Niu, C. Chen, Y. Liu, L. Li, Z. Li, D. Ji, X. Huang (2022) Mitigating Thermal Runaway Propagation of NCM 811 Prismatic Batteries via Hollow Glass Microspheres Plates, Process Safety and Environmental Protection, 162, 672-683.

  5. ​P. Sun, R. Bisschop, H. Niu, X. Huang (2020) A Review of Battery Fires in Electric Vehicles, Fire Technology, 56, 1361–1410.

©2026 by PolyU X Fire Lab. 

bottom of page