The Benefits of Spending €500 on lithium protection The Benefits of Spending €500 on lithium protection

E-bikes in the garage. Power tools in the company van. Power banks and laptops in the office. Electric tools in the workshop. Scooters, vacuum cleaners, drones, and garden tools at home. And yet we rarely ask ourselves this question: what actually happens if one of those batteries fails tonight?

At Liiontek, we believe that lithium safety doesn't always have to be complex or expensive. In fact: What can you change with just €500?

The answer is, surprisingly, quite a lot. Not because €500 makes a home or business completely fire-safe—no product can guarantee that—but because, for a relatively small amount, you can add multiple additional safety measures between a failing battery and a major fire.

And those first few minutes can make all the difference.

Imagine: there are two e-bikes in the garage. Next to them are batteries from a drill, a lawn mower, and a leaf blower. Inside the house are laptops, phones, tablets, and power banks. At night, an e-bike is charging.

Without additional measures
A battery begins to fail internally while charging. The temperature rises. Flammable and toxic gases are released. Thermal runaway occurs, and the battery pack catches fire. The bike is next to another bike. Behind it is a cabinet. Next to it is a car.

At that point, the problem is no longer: “A battery is on fire.” The problem becomes: “A house fire is breaking out.”

Lithium-ion incidents can escalate very quickly, reach extremely high temperatures, produce toxic smoke, and even reignite after they appear to have been extinguished.

For less than €500, you can, for example, strategically place two compact lithium-ion-compatible fire extinguishers and also set aside funds for additional detection or protection at the actual charging location.

A 2-liter ASAP lithium-ion fire extinguisher currently costs €96.80, including VAT. The larger 6-liter version costs €193.60. These extinguishers are designed to cool the battery and, depending on the model, have a range of several meters.

That changes something fundamental. You gain the ability to intervene early. Not when the garage is already fully engulfed in flames, but when the incident is still localized and manageable.

Add early detection of temperature or battery off-gassing, and you can intervene even earlier in the incident chain. That is what prevention is all about:

Detect → Alert → Intervene → Contain

Instead of:

Battery failure → Thermal runaway → Fire → Building fire → Fire department → Damage

€500 does not guarantee that a fire will never occur. It buys something else: Time. Detection. The ability to act. And a chance to prevent escalation.

This might be an even better example. An installer is driving home after work. In the back of his van are:

• cordless drills
• impact drivers
• saws
• grinders
• lamps
• measuring equipment
• multiple spare batteries
• various chargers

Together, this amounts to thousands of euros worth of tools. But more importantly: There are dozens of lithium-ion cells in a relatively small enclosed space.

The van is parked next to the house in the evening. One battery had fallen out earlier that day. Nothing seems wrong on the outside. But inside, one cell is damaged.

Hours later, the battery experiences an internal failure. Thermal runaway begins. The battery catches fire. Nearby tools are exposed to heat. Plastics start burning. Other batteries are affected.

Eventually, it's no longer just a battery fire. The entire van is on fire. And if that van is parked next to a house, garage, or other vehicle, the situation can escalate even further.

The damage then extends far beyond the value of a single battery: including + tools + downtime + replacement transportation + lost work + possible damage to the surrounding area.

Now imagine that damaged, suspicious, or valuable lithium batteries are not stored loosely among tools, but placed in a dedicated containment solution. This adds another layer of security.

The goal is not to claim that a battery will never fail. The goal is: If it fails, we want to prevent a single battery from immediately setting the entire contents of the van on fire.

And, importantly, this also plays a critical role in homes and workplaces when it comes to evacuation safety. When, for example, a home battery, e-bike, or power tool battery is located near a hallway, staircase, or exit, a containment solution or first-response tool can help ensure that a developing fire remains manageable for a longer period or is kept localized, providing occupants or employees more time to evacuate safely.

This is often an overlooked aspect of lithium safety: not only reducing damage, but especially buying time to get out safely.

And this is where we believe the problem lies in how we think about safety. We often compare a safety product to the cost of the battery. A battery might cost €150. So why invest hundreds of euros in protection?

But that's the wrong comparison. You shouldn't compare €500 to the battery. You should compare it to:

• the home where the battery is charging;
• the location where it is stored;
• the tools next to it;
• the production facility where it is used;
• the people sleeping above the garage;
• and in business: the cost of operational downtime.

Then €500 suddenly seems like a whole different story.

And it's important to note this: A fire extinguisher does not guarantee that a fire will never occur. A FireBag does not guarantee that a damaged battery will never go into thermal runaway. A gas or temperature sensor does not repair a defective cell.

But when you combine multiple measures, something much more important emerges: a layered safety concept.

• Prevention: safe charging, using high-quality batteries, and removing damaged batteries from use.
• Detection: identifying abnormal behavior as early as possible.
• Intervention: having the right tools available to act immediately.
• Containment: preventing a single battery incident from spreading easily to its surroundings.

The better question is: “What do I have around my batteries that I absolutely cannot afford to lose?”

Take a look around tonight. Where is your e-bike? Where are your tool batteries? Where do you charge your laptop? Where is the company van parked? What's right next to them?

And most importantly: What happens if one of those batteries goes into thermal runaway at 3:00 a.m.?

Do you have a detection system? Do you have the right fire-fighting equipment? Is the battery isolated from its surroundings? Can you respond safely? Or is the first real safety response the fire department, which is already on its way?

At Liiontek, we believe that lithium safety shouldn't be limited to large BESS installations, superyachts, factories, or data centers. It starts at home. In the garage. In the company van. In the workshop.

And sometimes, an investment of less than €500 can already make the difference between having no specific lithium protection at all and having multiple additional layers of safety.

Not every lithium fire can be prevented. But we can do much more to prevent a minor battery issue from turning into a major fire.

Because, ultimately, the least expensive incident is always the one that never escalates.

Protecting People. Preserving Business.
Liiontek – Lithium Fire Prevention & Safety Solutions