Are The Auto Insurance Underwriters Ready For Lithium Batteries?

Implications: Lithium cobalt oxide batteries in the sizes needed for laptop computers have been known to overheat and even burst into flame. Lithium iron phosphate batteries are known to develop internal high pressures. If the car companies are not going to tell us which technology they have chosen for lithium batteries then how will the insurance companies be able to assess safety and set rates?

Analysis: Lithium cobalt oxide batteries store much more power on a weight for weight basis than nickel metal hydride batteries; they are currently the largest size lithium technology batteries mass produced for use as rechargeable batteries for laptop computers as well as in smaller sizes for use in portable electronics of all kinds.

However OEM auto makers are wary of producing this technology for use in vehicles because of a rare though regularly reported defect; they can overheat and even ignite.

Therefore OEM car makers have been pushing the development of other lithium ion technologies which though capable of less power storage are still superior to nickel metal hydride batteries in power storage on a weight for weight basis and, in addition, do not show in testing as of yet the disastrous tendency to over heat or catch fire.

One of the most promising of the non cobalt type has been lithium iron phosphate made from a cheaper more readily obtainable ingredient, lithium iron phosphate, than lithium cobalt oxide.

Now, however, as this article points out, a negative property of lithium iron phosphate batteries, has surfaced; they tend to build up internal pressure, which unless contained mechanically can cause irreversible failure.

It is unclear if the very large battery pack that would be needed by a vehicle the size of a Prius would be subject to explosive decompression, but it is difficult to believe that any global OEM car maker is ready to take the chance.

If the problems of overheating and overpressurization are still unsolved how can it be that we are within months of such batteries coming to the market in large sizes?

I cannot imagine any car company telling us that the good news is that we have more power and performance than currently available, but that the bad news is that the vehicle may be too dangerous to insure.

Clearly all car makers have an obligation to tell us exactly how we are to be safeguarded against any known dangers, and if the dangers are past then we need to be shown test data gathered from 'real time' testing over years not 'accelerated testing' over months.

Where is this information?

Are the insurance companies ready for these batteries?

If so, let's please hear from them.