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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Technology
Donna Lu Science writer

‘Fastest-growing fire risk’: why do lithium batteries keep exploding across Australia?

CCTV footage of two people escaping when a lithium-ion battery exploded at a hostel in Darlinghurst in October 2023.
CCTV footage of two people escaping when a lithium-ion battery exploded at a hostel in Darlinghurst in October 2023. Photograph: Fire and Rescue NSW/AAP

A faulty lithium-ion battery in an e-scooter likely caused an intense garage and house fire in Sydney’s south on Tuesday, fire investigators have found, the latest in a spate of incidents involving lithium-ion batteries.

In early November, a fire in an apartment in New Farm in inner-city Brisbane is also believed by authorities to have been sparked by an e-scooter battery. In March, batteries resulted in four separate fires in a single day in New South Wales.

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