Risk of fire from lithium batteries: Austria plans to deposit old batteries!

Risk of fire from lithium batteries: Austria plans to deposit old batteries!

In Austria, alarm reports in recycling plants due to fires are increasing, with incorrectly disposed of lithium-ion batteries being identified as the main cause. A major fire in Tyrol in August 2023 was particularly serious, causing dense smoke for several days. According to studies by the Montanuniversität Leoben, the number of fires in recycling companies has increased more than fivefold in the last ten years, and up to six sources of fire are currently being registered in disposal or recycling companies every day. This worrying development has prompted Environment Minister Norbert Totschnig to invite key players to the ministry to discuss suitable measures. Cosmo reports that an extensive information campaign is planned for the coming year to promote awareness of the correct use of batteries.

As part of this effort, a “cash-back model” is also being explored to incentivize the return of old lithium batteries. A frightening fact is that in 2022 over 7,100 tons of portable batteries were put into circulation in Austria, but only 2,800 tons of them were collected separately. This means that the EU minimum collection rate of 45 percent was missed for the third time in a row with just 44 percent.

Fire risk and economic impact

However, the problem is not only limited to Austria. ZDF reports that lithium-ion batteries in residual waste can cause fires in garbage trucks or sorting systems. In the waste disposal industry, for example, fires caused damage of around 250 million euros in one quarter, which Oliver Gross from the Federal Association of the German Waste Management Industry describes as alarming. In Germany, too, the number of lithium batteries imported has more than tripled in the last ten years and was almost 600 million in 2019.

Waste disposal companies are under immense pressure because defective devices with batteries often end up in the residual waste and precise separation is difficult. As a result, fires often occur due to crushing or damage to lithium batteries, for example in degassing garbage cans. A possible solution is to separate batteries from other waste in a timely manner. BR adds that many of the around 30 fires in recycling and sorting plants in Germany every day are caused by batteries that were not discovered or were incorrectly disposed of.

Political and technical solutions in focus

The waste management industry is calling for political measures to improve battery disposal, including mandatory labeling for lithium batteries and better take-back rules. Although the EU has passed a new battery law that provides for higher recycling quotas and take-back obligations for manufacturers, a deposit requirement for batteries was rejected. The discrepancy between the high amounts of damage and the political guidelines illustrates the complexity of the challenges facing the waste management industry.

In order to get the risk of fire under control, the development of solid-state cells is also being discussed as a possible alternative to lithium-ion batteries. These could offer higher storage capacity and would be safer because they would be bound in non-combustible materials. However, opinions differ as to whether deposit regulations or technological alternatives are the solution to the problem.