ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Electric vehicle fires were a big problem in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, but now a University of Central Florida associate professor is hoping to make electric vehicles safer.

What You Need To Know

  • Electric vehicle fires were common from Hurricane Ian’s flooding

  • Saltwater can corrod the lithium-ion batteries found in electric vehicles

  • UCF Associate Professor Yang Yang developed an alternative battery

  • The battery uses saltwater to prevent fires from flooding

Dr. Yang Yang has spent more than a dozen years studying batteries. It all started when his iPhone would die.

“I have to replace it every two years, and that motivated me to develop a better battery,” he said.

Yang developed one that would help prevent electric vehicle fires.

Flooding from Hurricane Ian caused many electric vehicles to catch fire because of corroding from the saltwater, causing the lithium-ion batteries to short circuit.

Twelve electric vehicle fires were reported in Southwest Florida after Ian.

“(You) can’t easily extinguish (the fire) because it’s already in saltwater,” Yang said.

Ironically, it’s saltwater that Yang uses in his safer battery, replacing the volatile and highly flammable solvents found in lithium-ion batteries.

“Naturally (saltwater is) a good conductor for the battery,” he said.

The reason they use saltwater in these batteries is because of the naturally occurring metal ions found in it that can help store more energy safely.

Yang and his team at UCF say these batteries with saltwater are not only safer but also faster at charging. They’ve developed them in all sizes to replace lithium batteries.

Now Yang is looking for an investor to help get these saltwater-based batteries in electric vehicles.

“We need to convince the costumer that our materials, our batteries are much better than the lithium battery,” Yang said.