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Test Explodes Electric-Car Battery, Injuring General Motors Lab Worker

The Wall Street Journal -- General Motors Co. said an electric-car battery undergoing tests at a Warren, Mich., research center exploded, sending an employee to the hospital.

The lithium-ion battery exploded at about 9 a.m. Wednesday at GM's Technical Center, where the auto maker designs and develops new vehicles, a spokesman said. Emergency personnel examined five employees on the scene and transported one to a local hospital, he said.

The explosion is the latest glitch in the auto industry's efforts to bring electric vehicles to market. GM's battery-powered Volt and Nissan Motor Co.'s Leaf had disappointing sales in their first year, and several start-up companies producing batteries for electric cars have struggled.

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Submitted Apr 12, 2012 By: ziyulu

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remay Champion Author Houston Posts:7,078 Points:2,143,215 Joined:May 2006	Message Posted: Apr 13, 2012 6:57:17 AM Ignore remay Report Abuse And we have INDIVIDUALS modifiying their cars at home putting in 44 lithium batteries!!! (article posted a few days ago)
Amplion Champion Author Oregon Posts:6,921 Points:1,892,010 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Apr 13, 2012 2:10:55 AM Ignore Amplion Report Abuse NO MORE GM FOR ME !!!!
Night Owl Champion Author Toronto Posts:7,685 Points:1,813,925 Joined:Jul 2004	Message Posted: Apr 12, 2012 7:33:34 PM Ignore Night Owl Report Abuse Doesn't sound good at all.
bwatchingu Champion Author Arkansas Posts:1,859 Points:627,925 Joined:Jan 2009	Message Posted: Apr 12, 2012 4:20:15 PM Ignore bwatchingu Report Abuse Exploding ObamaMobile battery
sjf238 Champion Author Philadelphia Posts:1,215 Points:648,705 Joined:Mar 2011	Message Posted: Apr 12, 2012 1:26:30 PM Ignore sjf238 Report Abuse Interesting.
SycamoreISU Champion Author Indiana Posts:1,065 Points:275,825 Joined:Jan 2012	Message Posted: Apr 12, 2012 12:03:09 PM Ignore SycamoreISU Report Abuse Not that I was in the market for an electric car anyway . . . .
AlfaAirbeds Rookie Author Trenton Posts:35 Points:142,005 Joined:Apr 2012	Message Posted: Apr 12, 2012 11:23:39 AM Ignore AlfaAirbeds Report Abuse Agreed. Extreme tests need more extreme safety precautions.
BuckyTJones Champion Author Salt Lake City Posts:4,932 Points:967,950 Joined:Mar 2010	Message Posted: Apr 12, 2012 11:02:46 AM Ignore BuckyTJones Report Abuse I guess this justifies the meaning or use of a "Test Lab" Maybe they need to tighten up the precautions a little. Safety First.
FunMyster All-Star Author Indiana Posts:909 Points:73,480 Joined:Jul 2011	Message Posted: Apr 12, 2012 10:46:48 AM Ignore FunMyster Report Abuse Seems to be a long way from consumer friendly.
schatzila Champion Author Los Angeles Posts:5,084 Points:1,043,345 Joined:Jun 2010	Message Posted: Apr 12, 2012 9:54:02 AM Ignore schatzila Report Abuse Workman's comp time.
WonderfulMI Champion Author Michigan Posts:11,797 Points:1,813,615 Joined:Jun 2008	Message Posted: Apr 12, 2012 9:53:34 AM Ignore WonderfulMI Report Abuse This is the actual headline from the article: "Test Explodes Electric-Car Battery, Injuring General Motors Lab Worker A123 Systems' Lithium-Ion Battery Explodes During Car Maker's 'Extreme' Test." Apparently they were testing the "Extreme Limit". Perhaps they should have had better safeguards when pushing tests to such limits.
CapriceWagon Champion Author Washington Posts:1,009 Points:502,870 Joined:Feb 2008	Message Posted: Apr 12, 2012 9:16:26 AM Ignore CapriceWagon Report Abuse You've got to be careful when playing with batteries
fracknsave Champion Author Grand Rapids Posts:1,666 Points:58,000 Joined:Mar 2012	Message Posted: Apr 12, 2012 9:16:22 AM Ignore fracknsave Report Abuse Sure are making batteries powerful these days.
jimgraham Champion Author Akron Posts:10,508 Points:2,006,685 Joined:Oct 2007	Message Posted: Apr 12, 2012 9:01:12 AM Ignore jimgraham Report Abuse WSJ online sucks.
Grizdad Champion Author San Bernardino Posts:5,687 Points:805,780 Joined:Oct 2010	Message Posted: Apr 12, 2012 8:54:27 AM Ignore Grizdad Report Abuse Ooops. It was Bush's fault...
GetMaxCashBack Veteran Author Trenton Posts:386 Points:173,775 Joined:Mar 2012	Message Posted: Apr 12, 2012 8:53:30 AM Ignore GetMaxCashBack Report Abuse I'm guessing we're NOT getting the whole picture here. I'm guessing this lab was specifically testing the limits of the batteries. They probably don't go anywhere near the limits with their production vehicles for two reasons: 1. Safety 2. Battery Life-span I don't think this should scare people from electric car technology. After all, Lithium-ion batteries are safely used in a lot of real-world technologies like cell phones. It's all about finding the limits of how to use the technology safely. [Edited by: GetMaxCashBack at 4/12/2012 10:58:04 AM EST]
PatAZ Champion Author Tucson Posts:9,285 Points:123,500 Joined:May 2008	Message Posted: Apr 12, 2012 8:13:41 AM Ignore PatAZ Report Abuse Great add to buy a Volt.
rbrk02 Champion Author Rhode Island Posts:5,912 Points:843,955 Joined:Jan 2011	Message Posted: Apr 12, 2012 8:12:19 AM Ignore rbrk02 Report Abuse Subscription only article, but, I have already read this one before. Bottom line is this was a powerful explosion in a test lab. Article states that large windows were blown out and thick fortified doors were forced open. There are still people comfortable with the idea of driving around with one of these in their vehicle. Not me.
ifallsguy Champion Author Arizona Posts:5,200 Points:1,572,245 Joined:Apr 2007	Message Posted: Apr 12, 2012 8:01:46 AM Ignore ifallsguy Report Abuse wait until the government says it was a planned test
Nicoalbum Champion Author Ottawa Posts:6,167 Points:1,216,725 Joined:Jan 2010	Message Posted: Apr 12, 2012 7:40:24 AM Ignore Nicoalbum Report Abuse Another genius in a bottle
bicycle1966 All-Star Author Akron Posts:606 Points:414,360 Joined:Jul 2011	Message Posted: Apr 12, 2012 7:34:39 AM Ignore bicycle1966 Report Abuse It's unfortunate and sad that an employee got hurt from this -- but the fact that the battery failed in the test isn't really that big of a deal.
Yooperheart Champion Author Michigan Posts:3,560 Points:553,750 Joined:Feb 2010	Message Posted: Apr 12, 2012 7:34:16 AM Ignore Yooperheart Report Abuse Sorry about the employee, but you have to test these things. Time will tell.
Bernie516 Rookie Author Pittsburgh Posts:51 Points:132,245 Joined:Feb 2012	Message Posted: Apr 12, 2012 7:18:54 AM Ignore Bernie516 Report Abuse It's obvious that these cars/batteries were not properly safety tested and were rushed to get out on the market. Manufacturers were just seeing dollar signs. Slow down, make it right, make it safe and then maybe someone will buy it.
MontanaMac Champion Author Washington Posts:1,736 Points:410,050 Joined:May 2011	Message Posted: Apr 12, 2012 7:10:55 AM Ignore MontanaMac Report Abuse Ouch. And this is far from the 'first' negative spin on GM's electric car efforts.
batloverNM Champion Author Albuquerque Posts:3,947 Points:1,394,800 Joined:Oct 2007	Message Posted: Apr 12, 2012 7:09:18 AM Ignore batloverNM Report Abuse Name one product that was perfect the first time out. If you let a bad thing stop you you are never going to get anywhere.
YaBassa Champion Author Michigan Posts:2,566 Points:543,825 Joined:Nov 2011	Message Posted: Apr 12, 2012 7:09:14 AM Ignore YaBassa Report Abuse A negative twist from the Wall Street Journal. Surprise surprise.
derKraut Champion Author Ontario Posts:2,114 Points:1,249,655 Joined:Dec 2008	Message Posted: Apr 12, 2012 7:03:47 AM Ignore derKraut Report Abuse "The explosion is the latest glitch in the auto industry's efforts to bring electric vehicles to market. GM's battery-powered Volt and Nissan Motor Co.'s Leaf had disappointing sales in their first year". And it is only going to get worse from here on.
chemist74 Champion Author Cleveland Posts:13,510 Points:2,395,980 Joined:Apr 2005	Message Posted: Apr 12, 2012 7:00:35 AM Ignore chemist74 Report Abuse Without knowing what they were doing to the battery during the test, this may not really mean much. Tersting sometimes involves pushing a product beyond the conditions it was designed to handle. (Testing to destruction.)
Eugene_C Champion Author Columbus Posts:2,299 Points:155,995 Joined:Mar 2004	Message Posted: Apr 12, 2012 6:55:26 AM Ignore Eugene_C Report Abuse This is the 4th post for this story. Please check the existing topics for crying out loud.
Evilmaddog Champion Author British Columbia Posts:3,461 Points:984,275 Joined:Aug 2010	Message Posted: Apr 12, 2012 6:50:11 AM Ignore Evilmaddog Report Abuse Ouch
grandpadon28110 Champion Author Charlotte Posts:4,851 Points:1,169,035 Joined:Sep 2008	Message Posted: Apr 12, 2012 6:40:58 AM Ignore grandpadon28110 Report Abuse Bad.
drpepperTX Champion Author Texas Posts:9,159 Points:778,875 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Apr 12, 2012 6:27:54 AM Ignore drpepperTX Report Abuse Not good.
lcleveland Champion Author San Antonio Posts:2,756 Points:676,005 Joined:May 2011	Message Posted: Apr 12, 2012 6:22:45 AM Ignore lcleveland Report Abuse uh, oh
humblepie Champion Author Toledo Posts:35,301 Points:2,398,095 Joined:Mar 2006	Message Posted: Apr 12, 2012 6:17:09 AM Ignore humblepie Report Abuse such stupidity
FPLREP Champion Author Virginia Posts:8,395 Points:2,474,835 Joined:Oct 2005	Message Posted: Apr 12, 2012 5:49:33 AM Ignore FPLREP Report Abuse Working on or around batteries can be dangerous.