'Did KAIST, which researches batteries, also get surprised?'... First battery fire drill

Conducted Battery Fire Response Drill During Eulji Training
Battery Research Laboratory Also a Fire Hazard Zone

As electric vehicle fire issues became a social concern, it was confirmed that KAIST, which researches batteries, also conducted battery fire accident response training. This is the first time KAIST has conducted battery-related fire training.

According to a KAIST official on the 22nd, during the Ulchi Exercise period on the afternoon of the 20th, a training exercise simulating a battery fire accident was conducted at the KI Building of KAIST's main campus in Daejeon and a nearby open area.

The training assumed a fire in the battery located in the building's basement. Faculty, staff, students, and visitors learned the action guidelines in case of a battery fire accident and practiced using fire extinguishing equipment to understand how to respond to such fires.

A KAIST official explained, "Since damage can be significant if a battery-related fire occurs in the basement, we conducted battery fire training for the first time."

Institutes of science and technology, including KAIST, often experience fires due to the many laboratories. At KAIST, a laboratory fire occurred in May, and in 2003, there was a fatal laboratory explosion accident.

There have also been cases of battery-related fires. At Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), battery fires occurred in 2021 and last March. Although these were relatively small-scale incidents, they demonstrate the reality that laboratories are not exempt from battery fire accidents.

According to the 'Status of Safety Accidents in Laboratories at the Four Major Institutes of Science and Technology' submitted by the Ministry of Science and ICT to Min Hyung-bae, a member of the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Broadcasting and Communications Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, there were 66 laboratory safety accidents at the institutes from 2018 to August of last year. Among these, the chemical and chemical engineering fields accounted for 29 cases (43.9%), the highest number.

Dr. Do Chil-hoon of the Korea Electric Research Institute advised, "Battery laboratory sites must be sufficiently prepared for the risk of fire."