[News Today] Aging lithium-ion battery sparks blaze

[LEAD]
The fire at Korea's National Information Resources Service is now believed to have started from aging lithium-ion batteries.

These are the same type blamed to be the cause of several recent fires.

The batteries had surpassed their 10-year lifespan, raising concerns over outdated equipment housed dangerously close to critical servers.

[REPORT]
A fire at an apartment in Mapo-gu district, Seoul last month took the lives of two people.

Early this year, a blaze occurred on an Air Busan aircraft.

Just like the fire at the National Information Resources Service, all those cases were presumably caused by lithium-ion batteries.

Lithium-ion batteries catch fire easily because when the thin separator inside is damaged, an internal short circuit occurs instantly, leading to thermal runaway.

The separator can be damaged not only by external shock, but also due to internal problems caused by aging.

It has been found that the battery that caused the fire this time was installed in August 2014, meaning its 10-year lifespan ended more than a year ago.

Prof. Lee Duck-hwan / Sogang Univ.
Using a lithium-ion battery for a long time can form needle-like deposits in the liquid electrolyte, which may damage the separator.

Despite the risk of explosion due to overheating caused by internal damage, the batteries and servers had been kept together in a cramped space.

The NIRS says it has received inspections into battery ageing regularly so far, and nothing abnormal was detected during the latest checkup.

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