Taiwanese Media: Fire Erupts at Island’s First “Super Battery Factory,” Causing Complete Shutdown of Ternary Battery Production Line; Cause of Explosion Revealed
A fire broke out at the Xiaogang plant of Taiwan Cement Corporation’s subsidiary, Sanyuan Energy Technology Co., Ltd., in Kaohsiung City at approximately 5:00 AM today, July 14. Thick smoke billowed from the building, and explosions were reported. According to the United Daily News, Kaohsiung Fire Chief Wang Zhi-ping stated that firefighters sustained injuries due to exploding lithium batteries while extinguishing the blaze. Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai rushed to the scene and ordered the immediate shutdown of the ternary battery production line. Mayor Chen stated that the fire originated in the finished goods area, where the batteries were being charged, leading to the explosions.
A fire broke out on July 14th at the Xiaogang plant in Kaohsiung of Taiwan Cement Corporation’s subsidiary, Sanyuan Energy Technology Company. Source: Taiwan TVBS News Network
Wang Zhi-ping stated that this accident resulted in minor injuries to several employees and firefighters at the plant. The main cause was sparks from the lithium batteries, resulting in minor burns to the injured, who remained conscious and are not in life-threatening condition. Wang Zhi-ping also stated that due to the chemical properties of lithium batteries, factory management must adhere to the strictest standards, and he will demand that the plant thoroughly investigate the responsibilities involved.
Wang Zhiping stated that due to the inherent properties of lithium batteries, they can reignite repeatedly. Therefore, the fire could only be brought under control by continuous water cooling until the thermal reaction was complete and the flames were fully extinguished.
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai, who was scheduled to attend a meeting on the morning of the 14th, canceled the meeting and rushed to the scene to assess the situation due to a sudden fire. He stated that the main area affected by the fire was the finished product area, where the finished products required charging, leading to the explosion. The production line of ternary batteries has been ordered to shut down completely.
According to previous reports from Taiwanese media, the SANYU Energy Technology’s Kaohsiung lithium battery factory is the island’s first “super battery factory.” It produces high-end, high-capacity, high-power nickel ternary batteries with an annual production capacity of 1.8 GW (gigawatts), equivalent to the amount of long-range batteries needed for 24,000 electric vehicles annually.