Thoughts on GM Volt’s Recent “Rapid Thermal Expansion” Incident…

The author views a post-crash battery fire of a Chevy Volt at a NHTSA facility as an opportunity for General Motors to improve lithium-ion battery safety and reliability. Drawing on personal experience with battery failures, the author suggests that investigating such 'mistakes' drives engineering breakthroughs and intellectual property gains, ultimately positioning GM as a global leader in advanced automotive technology.

• A Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid electric vehicle battery, which had been damaged during a crash test at a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) facility, caught fire three weeks after the test and ignited nearby vehicles.
• The author contends that root cause failure investigations of lithium-ion battery packs provide more insight into their behavior and control than standard robust failure testing and analysis.
• The author argues that by resolving failure modes and quantifying the peripheral behavior mechanisms of high-energy battery packs, General Motors can establish a global leadership position and create valuable intellectual property.

APA

Waters, J. (2011). Thoughts on GM Volt’s Recent “Rapid Thermal Expansion” Incident…. RMI. https://rmi.org/resources/john_waters_on_gm_volt_battery_incident/

Chicago

Waters, John. Thoughts on GM Volt’s Recent “Rapid Thermal Expansion” Incident…. RMI, 2011. https://rmi.org/resources/john_waters_on_gm_volt_battery_incident/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Waters |first1=John |title=Thoughts on GM Volt’s Recent “Rapid Thermal Expansion” Incident… |publisher=RMI |date=30 November 2011 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/john_waters_on_gm_volt_battery_incident/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{waters2011thoughts, author = {Waters, John}, title = {{Thoughts on GM Volt’s Recent “Rapid Thermal Expansion” Incident…}}, publisher = {RMI}, year = {2011}, month = nov, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/john_waters_on_gm_volt_battery_incident/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }