Ejecting EV battery: the Chinese SUV that throws its pack away

One question has no public answer: where does a pack weighing several hundred kilos land when it is fired in the middle of a city? The software meant to block firing outside clear areas did not exist yet at the time of the demo. The idea itself is not isolated. Hyundai and Kia filed a similar patent in 2024, for a stationary vehicle, triggered by hand with a lever.

The problem all of this targets

The enemy is thermal runaway, a chain reaction in which one overheating cell sets its neighbours off. A US study published in August 2026, after 18 electric vehicles were deliberately burned, concluded that no extinguishing technique stops it once it starts. Since July 2026, China has required that a pack must neither ignite nor explode, even when a cell runs away.

The French answers: flood it, or drop it

In France, the approach deployed at scale goes the other way: let water in. Renault's Fireman Access, developed with firefighters, adds a membrane to the battery casing that gives way under the pressure of a hose, opening a direct path to the cells. Putting the fire out takes a few minutes instead of several hours, with roughly ten times less water. It is fitted to every electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle from Renault, Dacia, Alpine and Mobilize, and the licence has been offered to all carmakers since 18 February 2025.

Stellantis is exploring a middle route, described in a patent application spotted this autumn. Pyrotechnic fasteners drop the pack onto the ground under the car, which then drives away on its 12-volt battery alone. On paper, that avoids the projectile: the pack stays flat on the road while the cabin moves away from the fire.