Electric Vehicle Fire Safety at Sea - ELBAS, LASH FIRE

• Are EV fire on ferries more dangerous than traditional cars?
• Do current firefighting techniques provide a sufficient level of safety in ro-ro spaces?
• What new fire training is required for crew members to effectively handle such fires? 

These questions and more are being addressed through Danish and European projects. Come hear latest developments and results from several of these.

Program

Welcome & Introduction by Alexander Bjørn Kleiman, past Chairman - IDA Maritim & Manager - Maritime Projects, DBI – The Danish  Institute of Fire and Security Technology

ELBAS - Electric Vehicle Fires at Sea: New Technologies and Methods for Suppression, Containment, and Extinguishing of Battery  Car Fires Onboard Ships
by Alexander Kleiman, Carsten Møller, Nicklas Koch, and Thushadh Wijesekere, DBI – The Danish Institute of Fire and Security Technology

With the use of advanced fire safety engineering combined with human element analysis, the ELBAS project has as its overall goal to increase  awareness of the complexity of EV battery fires at sea. ELBAS focuses on identify effective techniques and potential technologies and tools for  handling such fires. 

DBI will present the ELBAS project, including an update on the task currently ongoing involving live fire testing and CFD fire simulations as  well as field work studying current practices and human element.  

The outcome of the ELBAS project is to develop performance based holistic fire safety strategies for EV battery fires on Ro-ro ferries, focusing  on delivering solutions for the Danish maritime sector that are directly implementable and affordable in the short-term.

The ELBAS project is currently ongoing and is being conducted over a one-year period, as an intensive, solution-oriented project which is  supported by the Danish Maritime Fund. 

LASH FIRE – Legislative Assessment for Safety Hazards of Fire and Innovations in Ro-Ro ship Environment
by Sif Lundsvig, Sustainable Fleet Projects at DFDS A/S

Funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program, LASH FIRE aims to improve ro-ro ship fire safety, with  project partners from 13 EU Member States investigate cost-efficient measures to mitigate the risk from ro-ro space fires and aims to develop  and demonstrate 20 new procedures and technical innovations, to strengthen the fire protection of ro-ro ships. 

DFDS as one of the 25 consortium partners is providing the LASHFIRE project with knowledge and experience from ship building / operations  and logistics, and both technical & design aspects and information flows. DFDS contributes with necessary data as well as suitable vessels for  tests and validation of results in LASH FIRE, and their role in the project will be presented. 

BREND 2.0 and SAFE AND SUITABLE FIREFIGHTING 

by Anna Olofsson & Julia Burgén, RISE - RESEARCH INSTITUTES OF SWEDEN 

BREND 2.0 - Fire in new energy carriers on deck 2.0 Fire in new energy carriers on deck 2.0 The aim of BREND 2.0 is to improve the  possibilities for a safe firefighting operation in ro-ro spaces by improving the competence in how personnel assess the fire risks with alternative  fuel vehicles. With special focus on the risks associated with fire exposed gas cylinders in gas driven vehicles  and the risks of being exposed  to toxic substances during firefighting. 

Data from fires in battery electric vehicles was used to simulate the conditions in a ro-ro space and the risk of exposure to toxic substances  were analyzed. Experiments with CNG and Hydrogen gas cylinders was conducted to investigate the possible risks with water application unto  compressed gas containers. The project results will be presented, including recommendations on manual firefighting operations in the event of  a fire in ro-ro spaces which include special protective measures in case of gas tanks exposed to fire or possibilities to reduce exposure to toxic  gases, such as ventilation needs, the use of a chemical suit or other equipment and tactics.

Safe and Suitable Firefighting - Are the requirements for personal protective equipment for firefighting at sea sufficient? The level of protection  for personal protective equipment (PPE) in firefighting is an important issue for shipowners as they want to be sure that the equipment, they  provide is sufficiently safe for the types of fires that can occur on board. In particular, ro-ro ferry operators want to be updated on risks related  to vehicle development and new energy carriers (e.g. electric cars, CNG trucks).

The Safe and Suitable Firefighting project investigated what level of protection the personal protective equipment (PPE) that is used during a  fire onboard should fulfil, focusing especially on the fire suits, and proposes suggested changes to MED/SOLAS requirements for these.

EMSA GUIDANCE ON THE CARRIAGE OF AFVS IN RO-RO SPACES
By Sifis Papageorgiou, Senior Project Officer - Safety & Security at EMSA 

EMSA (the European Maritime Safety Agency) will give a short presentation on the Expert Group work currently being done on  the development of common EU Guidance on the Carriage of AFVs in Ro-Ro Spaces, including a preview of the new forthcoming EMSA  Interim Guidelines for the Safe Carriage of Alternatively Fueled Vehicles (AFVs) in Ro-Ro Spaces of Cargo and Passenger Ships.

Questions & Answers and Closing
by Alexander Bjørn Kleiman, past Chairman - IDA Maritim

The event is in collaboration with Danish Society for Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering Foundation.