Sign In
Learn bits
Science & Tech.
Mahesh

08/01/25 17:23 PM IST

Airline pilots’ body calls attention to lithium battery fire risk

In News
  • Recently, the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA) issued three position papers on the fire risk due to the use of lithium-ion batteries in airport and aircraft settings.
About IFALPA
  • IFALPA is a global nonprofit representing the international community of professional pilots.
  • After World War II, the United Nations established the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in 1947 to coordinate air transport and its principles worldwide.
  • A year later, ICAO organised a conference in London where pilots could interact with its leaders. IFALPA was born at this event with 13 pilots’ associations.
  • IFALPA encompassed 104 member associations representing one lakh professional pilots worldwide around 2013.
  •  IFALPA also provides inputs to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the Airports Council International, and the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers’ Association.
Concerns about Lithium batteries
  • Almost every major industry in the world is mechanised to a significant degree, and the energy for these machines has traditionally been produced by burning fossil fuels.
  • As climate mitigation has become more pressing, industries are under pressure to replace this thermal energy — the principal cause of global warming — with electric energy.
  • For example, EVs draw electric energy from a battery to drive an electric motor and supply kinetic energy to the wheels.
  • In an internal combustion engine, heat energy released by burning fossil fuels moves pistons, whose motion is converted to rotary motion of the wheels.
  • Lithium-ion batteries have emerged as a popular solution to storing electric energy because they are energy-dense, rechargeable, and can be made in almost any shape, which is useful when there are space constraints as onboard an aircraft.
  • But lithium-ion batteries have been known to catch fire when they are subjected to certain physical stresses.
  • The fire is the result of the stress creating a short-circuit inside the battery, leaving it to keep producing electric current, heat, and oxygen – an event called thermal runaway.
  • The battery’s internal components can become corroded while the risk of catching fire increases.
  • The short circuit can be the result of mechanical, electric, and/or thermal abuse, which respectively deform the internal structure, degrade its electric performance, and cause heat to accumulate.
Source- The Hindu

More Related Current Affairs View All

07 Aug

What is the potential of biochar?

'With the Indian carbon market set to be launched in 2026, CO2 removal technologies such as biochar are expected to play a crucial role. ' Biochar is a type of charcoal rich in

Read More

07 Aug

Carriage of Goods by Sea Bill, 2025

'The Parliament has passed the Carriage of Goods by Sea Bill, 2025, with the Rajya Sabha approving it recently. ' The Bill seeks to replace the Indian Carriage of Goods by Sea A

Read More

07 Aug

Telangana’s Kaleshwaram project

'The Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) in Telangana is under scrutiny after the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) reported significant structural damage and design flaw

Read More

India’s First Ai-Driven Magazine Generator

Generate Your Custom Current Affairs Magazine using our AI in just 3 steps