Measures are needed to calm EV phobia

Battery and car makers also must work harder to assure safety.

Electric vehicles (EVs) have suddenly become a source of nuisance and fear amid chain explosions. Slow responses from the central and local governments have only exacerbated the anxiety. Apartment and commercial buildings are starting to restrict the entry and parking of EVs. Safety anxiety has sent EV owners to sell their cars and potential buyers to shun second batteries that could devastate the industry.

EV phobia flared up from the inferno caused by the explosion of an all-electric Mercedes-Benz car in an underground parking lot of an apartment building in Incheon on Aug. 1. The explosion of lithium batteries prone to thermal runaway — a self-heating condition that can instantly raise the temperature to 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,832 degrees Fahrenheit) — completely burned down 72 vehicles and pipelines and cut power and water supplies to the apartment units. An EV parked in Geumsan, South Chungcheong, also caught fire on Aug. 6.

Owing to the generous government subsidy under a clean energy transition policy, EV ownership has topped 500,000 units in Korea. Fire reports also have increased in line with the EV proliferation. According to the National Fire Agency, EV-related fire cases reached 72 last year, compared to 24 in 2021. Of 139 cases in the last three years, 68 caught fire while running, 36 while parked and 26 while being charged.

But safety regulations stayed slack. Hyundai Motor disclosed the names of the battery makers behind its 13 EV types since the fire in Incheon, but there is no mandate on battery origin disclosure. Most of chargers lack mechanisms to stop overcharging, which is blamed primarily for causing fire. In an examination on 245,435 chargers installed in multi-residential complexes in June, 98.3 percent lacked the powerline connection modem that can prevent overcharge. There are no regulations on fire extinguishing equipment for installing EV chargers, either. Because most chargers are installed underground where firetrucks cannot easily enter, the damages can be potentially larger.

The government has started to work on a set of comprehensive measures. The measures to be announced next month will likely include a mandate to disclose the information on battery producers behind EV brands; strengthened safety regulations on charging systems and overcharge; and mandatory installation of preventive and response equipment against lithium-caused fires.

Authorities must come up with clear and effective measures to contain the ballooning scare over EVs. Makeshift actions cannot resolve consumer anxieties that can hurt the EV market and the competitiveness of manufacturers. Battery and car makers also must work harder to assure safety. The legislature must demonstrate bipartisanship in toughening EV safety regulations.