Battery from LG Energy Solution as in the Case of Kona EV Fires
A Hyundai Motor electric bus caught fire.
The city bus, Hyundai Elec City manufactured in 2019, burned up in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province on Feb. 15. The bus was moving to a garage after repair and the fire started on its roof, where its battery is positioned. Fortunately, there were no passengers in the bus and no one was hurt by the accident.
According to industry sources, the battery is from LG Energy Solution as in the case of the battery of the Hyundai Kona EV, whose successive fires recently led to a global recall. The automaker, the Korea Automobile Testing & Research Institute and the National Fire Agency are planning to initiate a joint investigation soon.
“We told the institute to launch an investigation,” the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said, adding, “We will look into whether the fire started inside or outside the battery cell and deal with the matter with the National Forensic Service.” The ministry and the institute are also going to check whether the bus and Kona fires have any correlation.
The ministry is about to announce the result of its Kona fire investigation. LG Energy Solution, which supplied the battery in question, may take a direct hit if the battery is blamed.
Earlier, the ministry said it confirmed the possibility that a defective cell of the high-voltage battery might have caused the fire. However, LG Energy Solution is denying the possibility. The Korea Automobile Testing & Research Institute is currently investigating the cause of the Kona fires.
It is said that Hyundai may replace the battery system of every Kona EV depending on the investigation result. This is estimated to cost at least one trillion won and cost sharing with LG Energy Solution is likely.
The Kona EV debuted in 2018 and 11 and four fires have occurred at home and abroad, respectively. In October last year, Hyundai recalled 77,000 Kona EVs manufactured between September 2017 and March 2020. In the recall process, its battery management system was updated and then the battery was immediately replaced in the event of symptoms such as a drastic battery temperature change and an excessive inter-cell voltage deviation.