Innovation-Nov-Dec-2023

FIRES SUPPRESSION ALSO A SAFETY ISSUE FOR EVs Beyond weight, Hamersley says one of the most important safety issues where EVs are concerned is fire suppression. Open-air parkades generally do not have sprinkler systems, but even if they did, he says, EVs burn too hot for standard sprinkler systems to be of any use. “The current fire-fighting methodology is to let the fires burn themselves out, while keeping the fires from spreading. Sometimes, where possible, the burning vehicles will be dragged out in to the open air and allowed to burn,” he says. “Keep in mind that any vehicle fire, not just EVs, release an abundance of hazardous gases and materials, that pose significant risk to anyone in the parkade, and need to be exhausted. Now imagine a row of six EVs plugged into a row of charging stations and one starts on fire. The damage could be devastating. I believe that upgrades to fire-suppression systems in parkades is one of the most important upgrades to be considered or investigated in existing parkades.” BITUMEN AN UNLIKELY ALLY TO EVs Making EVs lighter is something researchers at UBC are looking into. Inside Dr. Yasmine Abdin’s lab in the faculty of applied science, the engineering assistant professor and her collaborators have successfully transformed bitumen into carbon fibres, which are crucial for the energy transition. “Building a car’s chassis or body with lightweight carbon fibres not only helps to compensate for a heavy EV battery pack, the carbon fibres also enhance a battery’s ability to stay cool, improves passenger safety and extends driving range,” says Abdin, MSc, PhD, who is an expert on polymer-based composite materials.

EVs are becoming a more popular vehicle choice. P hoto : V irrage I mages /S hutterstock

The process developed by Abdin and her colleagues was one of the winning solutions during the first two phases of the Carbon Fibre Grand Challenge, a competition launched by Alberta Innovates to recover valuable products from oil sands.

Although durable and lightweight, producing carbon fibres is notoriously expensive. About half of the cost is attributed to raw material. Switching to bitumen significantly reduces costs while also mitigating its environmental impact— as it releases carbon dioxide when burned.

INNOVATION

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023

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