Full Circle Lithium fire fighting agent goes through testing

TORONTO — Full Circle Lithium Corp., a USA-based lithium products manufacturer and recycler, reports on the latest third-party testing results of its lithium-ion battery fire fighting agent.

An independent US-based accredited third-party laboratory conducted a series of tests utilizing different size lithium-ion batteries including a collection of 19 NMC 2800 mAh (milliampere-hour) battery cells, a 960 Wh (watt-hour) electric bike battery (made up of 48×18650 NMC cells), and, most recently an electric vehicle (“EV”) size 57 kW (kilowatt-hour) battery. The third-party laboratory reported on the first two test results and will report on the EV size battery test after all internal analyses and comparisons are completed.

Uncontrollable lithium-ion battery fires are proving to be a growing critical risk and challenge worldwide given the continued growth of electric lithium-ion battery-powered devices as well as for e-mobility and energy storage systems. The purpose of the third-party testing was to compare and understand the effects of different extinguishing agents on secondary lithium-ion batteries undergoing thermal runaway. The testing protocol was developed by a third-party laboratory to replicate current industry standards for lithium-ion propagation testing as well as fire suppression certification testing outlined in UL 9540A 4th edition and UL 711 8th edition.

While all three agents (the FCL Agent, water, and the leading third-party fire-fighting agent (the “Third-Party Agent”)) mitigated the initial fires, the FCL Agent was reportedly faster to extinguish the fires with only one application applied and produced considerably less volume of smoke (which contain hazardous chemicals). Water alone was only able to put out the battery fires after several voluminous applications as the batteries reignited multiple times. This highlights FCL Agent’s potential for rapid and effective lithium-ion battery fire control in real-world settings.

The EV-size battery fire testing was recently completed, and the third-party laboratory will provide its report once its analysis is completed. FCL’s personnel observing the EV fire testing reported that the FCL Agent extinguished the fire quickly and safely, with limited hazardous smoke being released.

Carlos Vicens, founder and CEO, stated: “We are very excited by these results that have now validated and surpassed our internal initial views. The FCL Agent is proving to be fast-acting, safe, and effective on both small and large-scale lithium-ion battery fires. We also believe our FCL Agent has significant advantages in health/safety/environment concerns and costs when compared to other competing agents. We will now focus on having the FCL Agent UL rated for both retail and commercial use over the upcoming months as well as having broader discussions with third parties on potential market avenues.”