Mitigating Risk Factors in Electric Vehicle Battery Manufacturing

Electric vehicle battery manufacturers must mitigate risks from hazardous chemicals and high-voltage systems through comprehensive safety assessments, worker training and compliance with evolving regulations.

• By Hamid Abuzaid
• October 11, 2024

As the search for cleaner energy transportation solutions continues, the demand for electric batteries such as those in electric vehicles (EVs) is also increasing. However, producing these batteries is a delicate process involving multiple chemicals, with each factory using its own secret recipes. This makes it difficult to create standardized security across the industry. To complicate matters, each state has different regulations for electric vehicle production facilities, making it even more difficult for manufacturers to ensure safety standards for electric battery production are met.

The dangers of manufacturing electric vehicles

As with any type of manufacturing, electric vehicle batteries carry different risks. At their core, electric vehicle batteries are made up of a mixture of dangerous chemicals, each with its own risks. For example, an unbalanced or improperly handled chemical mixture can cause serious injury to workers. Additionally, because these chemicals are very reactive, fire hazards are another serious risk. The majority of lithium-ion battery fires are caused by thermal runaway, where one chemical triggers another and causes the temperature to rise uncontrollably. These chemical fires can be difficult to extinguish and potentially threaten workers at the manufacturing plant and those downstream, such as transportation and recycling facilities. Manufacturers also need to be concerned about potential electrical hazards because electric vehicle batteries operate at such high voltages. If a worker comes into contact with high voltage parts, it could result in serious injury or death.

What businesses can do to mitigate risks

Manufacturers should take two main steps to understand the risks their production facilities face.

First, they must conduct a thorough risk assessment, which is essential to understand all the potential threats that could arise throughout the electric vehicle battery manufacturing process, from the handling and mixing of chemicals to the proper storage and shipping. A risk assessment begins with a few basic questions, such as who the primary stakeholders are and what regulations must be followed under state, federal, and OSHA laws. All stakeholders need to be involved in the conversation so that everyone has a say in how things will work and fully understands any risks involved, even in areas they don’t necessarily touch.

A thorough risk assessment will also look at the design of the facilities and how batteries and their components are stored before assembly. Factors such as temperature, humidity, air quality, fire-resistant materials and adequate ventilation all impact a facility’s safety standards. Some facilities have been purpose-built to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles, allowing them to incorporate risk mitigation systems into the initial design. However, manufacturers working with older facilities retrofitted to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles must consider the availability of a clean room to avoid contamination, appropriate storage space between batteries to limit the spread of fires and additional safety features such as eyewash stations and showers.