Two companies team up to create new weapon against deadly lithium-ion battery fires

Hewlett Packard and Microsoft, Spotify and Shopify, TripAdvisor and Reckitt – companies within the same business sector frequently form partnerships to increase market share, expand distribution networks and enhance customer experience. Now, industrial packaging experts Packaging and Crating Technologies (PACT), LLC. and Fireproof Solutions, Inc have collaborated to create a powerful new invention that extinguishes lithium-ion battery fires quickly, safely and neatly. The two company leaders today announced the launch of Lion-X, the world’s first specialized fire extinguishing agent that instantly contains and destroys deadly fires involving lithium-ion batteries, battery packs and chargers, a current global crisis.

“Lithium-ion battery fires are nearly impossible to extinguish and usually have to smolder out on their own after burning for many hours and emitting lethal fumes and gases, which makes them doubly dangerous,” said Rodger Mort, President of PACT®, LLC. “Safety for first responders, transportation companies and the general public has always been the driving force of our company and we know Lion-X will be a life-saving game-changer for everyone.”

According to TechCrunch online, as of July 3, 2023, there have been 114 investigations into lithium-ion fires, 74 injuries and 13 deaths, compared to six deaths in 2022 and four in 2021 and 80 of the fires occurred in populated structures like homes, buildings, and offices, adding to the danger and potential mortality.

Lion X is a pre-mixed, water-based agent that forms a low-expansion foam from an aspirating nozzle. The solution is compatible with both portable and wheeled extinguishers for either manual or automatic spraying. The agent can also be piped directly into EV battery packs and energy storage system (“ESS”) modules from agent storage tanks without foaming. Lion-X is able to quench lithium-ion fires upwards of 1,600 F degrees – typically within 30 seconds, while absorbing a greater amount of heat energy. Importantly, Lion-X also transforms smoke formation from lithium-ion fires such that virtually zero hydrogen and methane is produced, so these toxic gases won’t be released into the environment.

“Our proprietary, American-made solution sticks to 3-D shapes, overhead and vertical surfaces, and easily penetrates into small crevices,” said Dennis Rediker, CEO of Fireproof Solutions, Inc. “Additionally, when the fire is completely snuffed out, Lion-X only leaves behind a fine powder residue, which continues to cool surfaces and is easily washed off with a wet cloth or paper towel. Its flexibility and universality are revolutionary.”

Mort notes that spraying Lion-X on ignited B-pack battery cases and chargers also stops thermal runaway (TF), a phenomenon in which a lithium-ion cell enters an uncontrollable, self-heating state caused by extremely high temperatures, which can result in the ejection of toxic gas, shrapnel, smoke and fire. Here, Lion-X keeps the surrounding cells cool so that they don’t create a ‘domino effect’ and thus, a larger explosive event.

Other benefits of Lion-X are its ability to extinguish fires in other materials like wood, paper and fiber, as well as items and structures, such as furniture, curtains, shelves, cars, boats, carpets, walls and ceilings by preventing the spread of flames without damaging the sprayed items. Further, the solution is designed to be used without personal protective equipment (PPE) and is safe to wash and flush into sewers.

PACT is no stranger to lithium-ion battery fire containment. In addition to Lion-X, the company recently fabricated PACT® Thermo ShieldTM, , a lightweight, paper-based, fire-suppressant wrap that controls lithium battery thermal runaway when travelling, shipping, storing or disposing of products containing lithium-ion batteries. To date, it is the only product that has passed the proposed testing standards of the SAE International for safety in shipping lithium-ion batteries via land, sea and air.

Additionally, PACT has designed a special solution for the charging of E-mobility batteries used in the ever prevalent EVs, E-scooters and E-bikes - the PACT® Thermo Shield TR SleeveTM, in which its specially coated paper is wrapped around each lithium-ion battery cell to mitigate thermal runaway between them, thus serving as a crucial heat and flame barrier.