A battery pack caught on fire in the testing area of Rivian Automotive, Inc (NASDAQ:RIVN) factory in Normal, Illinois, on May 28, marking Rivian's third mishap since production began last fall, the Electrek reports.
The battery on fire was in thermal runaway, implying its cells were catching fire individually and causing a chain reaction throughout the pack, the Inside EVs reports.
Regular firefighters responded to the Rivian plant. They put out the fire and continued to douse the pack with water to prevent it from reigniting, a major concern for EV fires.
The only damage was to the battery pack, the carrier, and the test booth equipment, the WGLT.org reports.
The mishap occurred on the southwest side of the plant as Rivian attempted to ramp up production of its electric vehicles at the Normal factory.
Firefighters moved the battery pack outside once the fire was under control and returned it to Rivian to investigate the cause of the fire.
No injuries occurred, and production reconvened on May 29. Everyone was declared safe.
In February, a vehicle had caught fire inside the plant though the sprinkler system kept it from spreading. In October 2021, a small fire broke out in the automated battery assembly area.
Rivian has lost much money on undelivered vehicles during the production ramp-up. It looks to continue increasing production to satisfy demand while improving its gross margin.
Rivian aims to build a new facility in Georgia, five times larger, involving an outlay of $5-billion, featuring a test track, off-road trails, training center, research building, logistics center, and at least 144 EV chargers.
Price Action: RIVN shares traded higher by 3.71% at $32.10 on the last check Tuesday.
