Overview: Essential protection
Safety around lithium-ion batteries has become a top priority to protect operators and the working environment.
- System description: Our cabinets are storage units designed to protect against fire originating from within, ensuring staff safety in the event of spontaneous combustion
- Thermal runaway control: The system is designed to manage ‘thermal runaway’, an uncontrollable state where a battery (temperature > 73 °C) fails or experiences an internal short circuit
- Safety objective: The cabinet prevents risks associated with fire spread, as well as the ejection of projectiles and fragments during a critical event
Scope of application and limitations
Our solutions are tailored to your needs whilst adhering to a strict safety framework
- Scope of application: The system is designed for removable and portable lithium-ion batteries (e.g. electric bikes, portable power tools for workshops and landscaping, drones, handheld scanners, autonomous forklifts)
- Permissible capacities
- Battery mass: Less than or equal to 25 kg
- Unit charge capacity: Maximum of 4,000 Wh
- Maximum internal cabinet volume: 3,000 litres.
- Energy limits: The maximum total stored energy is defined by the manufacturer and must not exceed the capacity of the cabinet’s electrical installation.
- Exclusions: Non-fixed storage devices are not covered.
- Risks associated with toxic gases require the installation of an additional and mandatory air extraction system.
System, Classification and Technical Requirements
Each cabinet is classified according to its actual performance during thermal runaway tests:
- Class P (Performance): Indicates the maximum energy (in Wh) of the most powerful battery that the cabinet can safely contain (e.g. P3500)
- Class T (Surface Temperature): Measures the temperature rise (K) on the external surface.
- T1: Temperature rise from 0 to 150 K.
- T2: Rise of 150 to 250 K.
- T3: Rise greater than 250 K.
Examples
Class P3500T1: A P3500 T1 cabinet withstands the thermal runaway of a 3500 Wh battery whilst maintaining a very low external surface temperature (< 150 K rise)
Technical Construction Requirements
To guarantee this level of performance, our cabinets comply with rigorous construction criteria:
- Door management:
- Automatic closure or alarm if the door remains open for more than 1 minute
- Secure locking (minimum one point) and operable with one hand
- Ventilation and Gases: Mandatory installation of an air extraction system providing a flow rate of at least 10 m³/h to remove flammable and toxic gases
- Shelves: These are designed not to cause the doors to close and to ensure the cabinet’s stability, even when storage shelves are removed
- High-security equipment:
- Integrated automatic fire suppression system with smoke and/or heat detection
- Automatic emergency shutdown of the load in the event of a critical incident (> 70°C or smoke)
- Clear labelling: Each unit bears permanent markings indicating its P and T classes, energy limits, and safety warnings.
