New portable extinguisher stops lithium battery fires

Sept 26, 2022

Fires resulting from lithium battery cell failure are notoriously volatile and fast evolving. Conventional fire suppressant and extinguishing agents are not designed to combat them. But now, Sea-Fire Marine offers a cost-effective lithium battery fire suppression solution with a new line of portable extinguishers through its affiliated company LiCELL™.

Lithium batteries are common in handheld devices such as mobile phones and VHF radios, as well as recreational toys like drones and foils. They are also increasingly used in energy storage units in the form of deep cycle batteries and electric craft powerplants. This expanding use results in greater onboard fire risk.
When a lithium battery cell fails, whether due to damage, defect, short circuit or overcharging, the heat generated transfers to neighboring cells. This causes a cascading—and potentially lethal—combustion sequence called thermal runaway.

LiCELL extinguishers use Aqueous Vermiculite Dispersion (AVD), an innovative suppression agent, to encapsulate the fire source. This provides a non-flammable oxygen barrier that smothers flames while delivering a cooling effect to halt thermal runaway.

The LiCELL AVD agent is an advanced and highly refined formulation of vermiculite particles and water. It is non-toxic and environmentally safe, with no global warming potential.

LiCELL AH Series refillable handheld extinguishers have stainless-steel cylinders and are available in 1, 2, 6, and 9-liter sizes. They have discharge times of 25, 50, 120 and 180 seconds, respectively, and a range of 6.5′.

The single-use LiCELL AA Series aerosol extinguisher comes in a convenient 0.5-liter size. Weighing only 1.25 lbs., it discharges up to 90 seconds to a range of 6.5′.
The LiCELL product range includes lithium battery fire safety kits, fire containment blankets and larger refillable sizes including wheeled extinguishers. Fixed systems will be offered in the near future. All products feature multi-lingual labels, manuals and documentation in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese.

LiCELL is a fire protection technologies company specializing in lithium battery fire solutions. Sea-Fire Marine, under license and agreement with LiCELL, supplies the marine market. More information is at www.licellfire.com.