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Charged EVs has published a whitepaper guide on thermal runaway in lithium-ion batteries, covering causes, the comparative fire risk of EVs versus combustion vehicles, and prevention and containment strategies including silicone syntactic foams.
A newly published whitepaper from Charged EVs, an EV engineering trade publication, lays out a practical guide to thermal runaway in large lithium-ion batteries — the self-heating failure mode that can cause EV battery fires — and evaluates approaches to preventing and containing it, including the use of advanced silicone syntactic foams.
According to the report, thermal runaway occurs when a battery cell overheats and reaches a critical temperature, triggering a self-heating reaction that can escalate to catastrophic cell failure, fire, or in extreme cases explosion. The whitepaper identifies thermal runaway as a growing safety concern for large lithium-ion battery packs, particularly those deployed in the electric vehicle industry, where thousands of cells are packed closely together in high-energy configurations.
The report frames the issue against the accelerating electrification of transport, noting that risks associated with thermal runaway have drawn heightened public attention as EV adoption widens. It says mitigating those dangers requires robust safety measures, cutting-edge materials, and strong safety protocols developed across the industry.
Among the solutions the whitepaper evaluates, it gives particular focus to how the latest silicone syntactic foams can be used to reduce the likelihood of thermal runaway propagating between cells and to mitigate its consequences when it does occur. It also addresses the question of comparative risk — whether EVs are more fire-prone than fossil-fuelled vehicles — though the publication gates the full findings behind account registration.
Why Battery Fire Prevention Matters Now
Thermal runaway matters because it is the failure mechanism behind the most serious lithium-ion battery incidents: once a cell passes its critical temperature, the reaction feeds itself and can spread to neighboring cells, a process known as propagation. In an EV pack containing many cells, containing a single-cell failure before it spreads is the difference between a manageable fault and a vehicle-destroying fire.
The whitepaper’s publication reflects industry demand for practical containment guidance as EV production scales. Materials such as silicone syntactic foams — which the report highlights — are designed to act as thermal barriers between cells, and guidance on their deployment affects how engineers design safer packs. For readers, the report also speaks to a persistent consumer question: how the fire risk of EVs compares with that of combustion-engine vehicles.
How Thermal Runaway Develops
: “Thermal runaway begins when heat generation inside a cell outpaces its ability to dissipate heat. According to the Charged EVs report, causes can include internal short circuits, physical damage, overcharging, and manufacturing defects — any of which can push a cell toward the critical temperature at which its materials begin to self-heat uncontrollably.
The report situates the issue within the broader growth of large-format lithium-ion batteries in transport. As packs get larger and energy density increases, the report argues, engineered safeguards — from cell-level materials to pack-level protocols — have become a central part of EV engineering, and public attention to battery fire incidents has intensified in parallel with electrification.
“If a battery cell overheats and reaches a critical temperature, it can trigger a self-heating reaction that can lead to catastrophic failure, fires and even explosion.”
— Charged EVs whitepaper
Questions the Whitepaper Leaves Open
The source material provided is a summary of the whitepaper rather than the full text; the complete findings, including the report’s assessment of relative EV versus fossil-fuelled vehicle fire risk and the specific performance data for silicone syntactic foams, are available only to registered readers. It is not yet clear from the summary which prevention strategies the report ranks most effective, or what test standards it references.
The whitepaper is also produced by an EV-industry trade publication and highlights a specific commercial material category, so its framing should be read as industry guidance rather than independent regulatory assessment.
Upcoming EV Engineering Conference
Charged EVs has announced its next Virtual Conference on EV Engineering, scheduled for September 14-17, 2026, with free registration for live or on-demand webinar sessions. Readers seeking the full whitepaper can register an account on the Charged EVs site to access the complete document, including its evaluation of containment materials and comparative risk analysis.
Readers who own an EV or hybrid should also stay informed of manufacturer recalls — battery-related recalls can be checked through the NHTSA recall lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls using a vehicle identification number. Any suspected battery damage, overheating, or warning indicators should be inspected by a certified technician or dealership service center, as high-voltage systems are safety-critical and not suitable for DIY repair.
Key Questions
What is thermal runaway in a lithium-ion battery?
According to the Charged EVs report, thermal runaway occurs when a cell overheats and reaches a critical temperature, triggering a self-heating reaction that can lead to catastrophic failure, fires, or explosion. Once started, it can spread to neighboring cells in a pack.
Are EVs more likely to catch fire than petrol or diesel vehicles?
The whitepaper examines this question directly, but its full conclusions are behind the publication’s registration wall. Fire-risk comparisons between EVs and combustion vehicles vary across studies depending on methodology, and the whitepaper’s specific findings were not available in the publicly visible summary.
What materials does the report recommend for containing thermal runaway?
The report gives particular focus to silicone syntactic foams, which it says can reduce the risk of thermal runaway and mitigate its consequences, for example by acting as thermal barriers between cells. It evaluates a range of other solutions as well.
What causes a battery cell to overheat in the first place?
Common triggers include internal short circuits, physical damage to the pack, overcharging, and manufacturing defects. Any of these can push a cell toward the critical temperature at which self-heating becomes uncontrollable, according to the report’s framing of the failure mode.
What should an EV owner do if they suspect a battery problem?
Check for open recalls via the NHTSA recall lookup (nhtsa.gov/recalls), and have any suspected battery damage, overheating, smells, or dashboard warnings inspected by a certified technician or dealership service center. High-voltage EV battery systems are safety-critical and should not be repaired by owners.
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