When a Tesla Model 3 hit road debris outside Goulburn, NSW, the high voltage lithium-ion battery pack went into thermal runaway, leading to a highly publicised, and extended duration incident for Rural Fire Service and Fire Rescue NSW crews.

In a world-first, EV FireSafe tore down the vehicle in partnership with Tesla. They removed the battery pack with its ~4000 battery cells to establish what went wrong, how far the fire had propagated, and created a timeline of events for the benefit of responders globally. The EV FireSafe team will share these learnings with us at our February Education Night.

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Presenters: Emma Sutcliffe, Director, EV FireSafe, Dan Fish, Technical Specialist, Glenn Probstl, Shipping & Automotive Lead, and Nathan Smith, Emergency Management Specialist.

EV FireSafe is an Australian company funded by the Department of Defence to research electric vehicle battery fires & emergency response. Their global database of real-world incidents provides rare insight into the new risks & challenges that face responders in a world of electrified transport. EV FireSafe’s research is published at evfiresafe.com.