Hoverboards were supposed to be the latest technological innovation to take the world by storm. With the Christmas shopping season fast approaching and stores struggling to keep the self-balancing motor scooters on the shelves, it appeared that these futuristic transportation devices were set to claim their spot amongst the most popular gift requests in recent memory. Then, disaster struck. Multiple cases of house fires resulting from faulty lithium ion batteries and substandard charging units hit the news, and, suddenly, the year’s most popular gift idea became the subject of a federal investigation.
“We consider this a priority investigation,” Patty Davis, a spokesperson for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, told CNNMoney. “This is a popular holiday item and it’s going to be in a lot of consumers’ homes, and we’d like to quickly get to the bottom of why some hoverboards catch fire.”
In the weeks since the initial report, additional hoverboard accidents have made headlines around the world. Within the past week, multiple fires in areas such as Melbourne, Australia, and California have been attributed to the futuristic scooters. In the case of the Australia fire, the hoverboard was left to charge for just 10 minutes, according to the family, before combusting into an inferno that caused more than $500,000 in damage. The response to these malfunctions has been swift and decisive. In the U.K., for example, hoverboards have been outlawed, and many other countries are looking to follow suit. In the U.S., California has enacted new rules governing the use of the two-wheeled devices on roads, and a number of airlines have banned them outright.
The charge against potentially deadly design flaws in many hoverboard models hasn’t been restricted to legislators. After the initiation of a federal probe into at least 16 reports of hoverboard fires in 12 states across the country, retail giants Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Target (NYSE: TGT) halted the sale of nearly all hoverboards until manufacturers were able to provide proof that their gadgets were in compliance with applicable safety standards. As of this week, self-balancing scooters from popular manufacturers such as IO Hawk, PhunkeeDuck and others were still unavailable on Amazon.
So with all of this in mind, consumers around the globe are wondering why hoverboards are so prone to combustion. While the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is continuing to work to find out the specific root of the problem, experts in the field of electronics point toward the scooters’ lithium ion battery packs. Much like the batteries used in laptops, tablets and cell phones, hoverboard batteries feature compartments loaded with a highly flammable liquid that can, if damaged or manufactured incorrectly, lead to excessive heat and explosion. In many cases, all it takes for a catastrophic failure is a small puncture in the thin sheet of plastic dividing the positive and negative sides of the battery. For that reason, proper quality control is vital to the safe manufacture of lithium ion-based stored energy solutions.
The potential dangers of faulty lithium ion batteries aren’t a recent revelation. In 2006, for example, computing giant Dell recalled millions of laptops as a result of just six incidents of fire. In a more recent event, Boeing (NYSE: BA) was forced to ground its 787 Dreamliner airplane until it could find a way to adequately cool its lithium ion power sources. The common denominator in almost all of these issues has been manufacturing issues stemming from a lack of adequate quality control.
In the case of hoverboards, it can be difficult if not impossible for consumers to inspect their batteries. The result has been that many of the faulty gadgets have been powered by counterfeit batteries sporting the logos of trusted manufacturers such as Samsung (OTC: SSNLF). By skimping on quality, manufacturers are putting an emerging new market in danger of disappearing just as it begins to hit a mainstream audience. The solution to this problem, however, may be simpler than it appears.
Oakridge Global Energy Solutions, Inc. (OTCQB: OGES) is actively combatting the problem of dangerous counterfeit batteries from overseas factories by producing high quality, ‘Made in the USA’ products that are optimized to address high-demand target markets. While manufacturers who turn to the lowest bidder for their energy storage solutions keep getting burned by inferior quality batteries, Oakridge is leveraging an immense intellectual property portfolio and an extensive history of design and system innovation to deliver the latest in energy storage technology.
With Chinese-made batteries repeatedly landing in the headlines for their questionable quality and origin, Oakridge’s battery systems, which are designed and produced in the company’s new manufacturing facilities in Melbourne, Florida, offer clients a better approach to stored energy and a level of quality and consistency upon which they can construct a more marketable and sustainable product and brand.
As the nightmare surrounding the hoverboard phenomenon continues to grow, the vital importance of high quality energy solutions is once again in the spotlight. Look for manufacturers to begin shifting away from the uncertainty of imported energy solutions in favor of the quality and dependability associated with a ‘Made in the USA’ product. With its recently completed restructuring and commencement of full-scale production operations, Oakridge is in a favorable position to capitalize on this market shift by offering a range of groundbreaking energy storage solutions.
For more information, visit www.oakridgeglobalenergy.com
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