Five people hurt in GM lab explosion, A123 battery reportedly responsible

Sebastian Blanco — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 10:58:00 EST

More details are filtering in about yesterday's explosion at the General Motors Technical Center battery research lab in Warren, Michigan.

First, the number of people injured has climbed to five, with one taken to the hospital and four treated at the scene. The local deputy fire chief said none of the injuries were life-threatening. The fire department also told the local mayor that it was fumes from hydrogen sulfide that caused the explosion, but GM declined to comment on that aspect. We learned yesterday that a battery under "extreme testing" caused the explosion.

According to The Detroit News' David Shepardson on Twitter, "Chemical gases from the battery cells were released and ignited in the enclosed chamber. The battery itself was intact" and, "All areas of the Alternative Energy Center except for the battery lab and adjacent offices will operate normally on Thursday."

Unnamed sources have told the media that it was a prototype battery pack made by A123 that caused the fire. Fox News says that pack was being tested for use in the Chevy Spark EV and other all-electric vehicles. Batteries made by A123 were recently involved in a $55 million replacement effort in the Fisker Karma.

Five people hurt in GM lab explosion, A123 battery reportedly responsible originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 12 Apr 2012 10:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Saga Continues: Consumer Reports' Fisker Karma gets new battery pack

Sebastian Blanco — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Sedan, Etc., Technology, Fisker, Electric

Send a $107,000 Fisker Karma to the dealer - after an incredibly public breakdown - and get a new battery pack in return. That's the lesson that Consumer Reports learned over the weekend and the repaired vehicle is now "operating fine at our test track" after 48 hours offline.

All that CR is saying about the problem is that the Fisker dealer said that a "fault was found in the battery and inverter cable. Both were replaced as a unit." Also, while lots of dealers wash your car after you take it in for servicing, CR's dealer also charged the brand-new pack. How kind. With everything back on track - for now - CR will get to what it intended to do days ago: put the Karma through its paces.

CR's Karma is not the only one with issues. All Karmas were affected by two recalls (due to a software glitch and then battery issues) and, as we discovered last week, owners are posting about their own problems over on FiskerBuzz.

The Saga Continues: Consumer Reports' Fisker Karma gets new battery pack originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 14 Mar 2012 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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