Vehicle Battery Testing - First Responder Best Practices
First Responder Best Practices
Best Practices for Emergency Response to Incidents Involving Electric Vehicles Battery Hazards
The Advanced Vehicle group at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) was tasked by the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Transportation to develop a first responder program for electric drive vehicles and their energy storage systems. INL partnered with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and NFPA's research arm, the Fire Protection Research Foundation to conduct a research program to develop the technical basis for best practices for emergency response procedures for electric drive vehicle battery incidents, with consideration for certain details including: suppression methods and agents; personal protective equipment (PPE); and clean-up/overhaul operations. A key component of this project goal was to conduct full-scale testing of large format Li-ion batteries used in today's electric drive vehicles. The below report and appendices summarize these tests, and includes discussion on the key findings relating to best practices for emergency response procedures for electric drive vehicle battery incidents.