Norled ferryboat Ytter øyningen, integrated in 2006 and also transformed to battery-hybrid in 2019, remained in routine procedure, working on its diesel motor when the fire began (PICTURE: Dag Inge Aarhus, Sj øfartsdirektoratet)
Battery supplier Corvus has actually currently released its initial searchings for on the root cause of a fire that burst out in the battery space of a Norwegian crossbreed ferryboat on the night of Thursday, October 10.
The Norwegian Maritime Authority (Sj øfartsdirektoratet) claims it sustains Corvus’s searchings for yet would love to take into consideration the record from Norwegian National Criminal Investigation Service (KRIPOS) prior to attracting its verdict.
The Norled ferryboat Ytter øyningen, integrated in 2006 and also transformed to battery-hybrid in 2019, remained in routine procedure, working on its diesel motor when the fire began. There were twelve travelers and also 3 staff participants aboard the vessel at the time. Firefighting started and also the ferryboat got to port under her very own engine power. Passengers and also staff were left to coast.
Next early morning, nevertheless, there was a surge listed below deck, in or beside the battery space.
CORVUS SEARCHINGS FOR
The examination and also searchings for until now reveal that the fire was probably because of a coolant leakage from a gasket in the Corvus liquid-cooled power storage space system which it was a one-off occasion, claims Geir Bj ørkeli Chief Executive Officer of Corvus Energy.
“For Corvus it is important to release the preliminary conclusions on the cause of the fire on board Ytterøyningen, thus avoiding speculation and uncertainty regarding the safety of lithium-ion battery-based energy storage systems. Safety has been, is and will always be Corvus Energy’s first priority,” claims Bj ørkeli.
The most likely root cause of the fire, claims Corvus, was a leak in the battery system’s fluid air conditioning circuit. Findings show that a twisted gasket, planned to secure the air conditioning plate beyond a battery component, is one of the most likely root cause of the leak.
It is prematurely in conclusion whether the twisted gasket was an outcome of current solution service the air conditioning system or if it was triggered by various other factors.
The leak produced arcing in between electric elements, at pack voltages of 1,000 V DC, firing up a fire. The fire was sustained by ethylene glycol elements from the coolant and also triggered exterior home heating of battery components.
Due to the recurring solution job, none of the battery system was linked to the shipside systems at the time of the occurrence. Consequently, no alarm systems from the battery system were sent out with the ship’s security system.
Findings have actually revealed that the trademarked and also qualified Corvus Passive Single Cell Thermal Runaway Isolation security system functioned as developed and also planned, probably restricting the damages from the fire.
Both the vessel’s Novec 1230 inert gas system and also the vessel deep sea fire automatic sprinkler were released throughout the occasion. The deep sea automatic sprinkler was mounted as an extra security obstacle. Indications are that the activation of the deep sea automatic sprinkler added to intensifying the occurrence.
MORE EXAMINATION
The additional examination will certainly concentrate on just how the degree and also seriousness of the complying with occasions had the ability to establish in the direction of a surge 12 hrs later on in the switchboard space beside the battery space.
The Norwegian Maritime Authority claims that, going by the initial examination, the rise of the occurrence is most likely linked to using the salt water automatic sprinkler for a brief time period, which to name a few points, triggered a number of brief circuits.
“We still feel confident that the batteries do not pose a greater risk than more conventional energy sources on ferries,” claims NMA Acting Director General of Shipping and also Navigation,Lars Alvestad “However, such an incident demonstrates the importance of continuously working on making improvements with regards to routines and safety measures. Therefore, the findings from Corvus and the report from Norwegian National Criminal Investigation Service (Kripos), as well as our own participation in the investigations, will be important contributions to the continued work on the phasing in of new technology.”
