Battery Smart-operated swapping station catches fire in Delhi’s Janakpuri area, raising concerns about safety measures
- ByStartupStory | April 19, 2023
On Monday, a battery swapping station in Delhi’s Janakpuri area caught fire, resulting in the destruction of all 50 battery packs and damage to the building. The incident is the latest in a series of fires involving Battery Smart-operated swapping stations in India, raising questions about the company’s safety measures.
According to Pulkit Khurana, co-founder of Battery Smart, a short circuit may have caused two battery packs to overheat, triggering the fire. He stated, “At 12:40 pm, our IoT-powered system alerted us that two separate batteries were facing a spike in temperature. Within a minute, we informed the ground staff who followed protocol by switching off the main power source and deployed foam extinguishers. (But) they couldn’t control the spreading…, which led to all the batteries catching fire. The fire department was alerted immediately.”
Khurana further stated that the company is awaiting conclusive results from ongoing investigations, including an internal probe, and audits by the fire department and the manufacturer of the batteries that likely triggered the fires.
Despite the repeated incidents, Khurana insists that Battery Smart follows strict safety protocols, including training franchise staff for emergency situations and conducting monthly checks at all battery swapping stations. He added, “We are taking all measures to ensure safety at our facilities and are committed to following the highest safety standards.”
However, some industry experts have raised concerns about Battery Smart’s safety measures, particularly given the company’s repeated incidents of fires at its facilities. Reports of electric vehicles or facilities bursting into flames have also raised safety concerns in India, prompting the government to update safety standards for electric vehicles.
The incident in Janakpuri comes after a massive fire at a Battery Smart-operated swapping facility in Lucknow’s Badshah Nagar killed one person in January. In May last year, a small Battery Smart outlet in Noida also caught fire, and a similar incident occurred at another Battery Smart facility in Delhi’s Sitapuri region two months later.
With safety emerging as a major concern in India’s electric vehicle sector, it remains to be seen what measures Battery Smart will take to address the problems and restore confidence in its facilities.
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