Crews battle Tesla battery fire at Moorabool, near Geelong

A toxic blaze at the site of Australia’s largest Tesla battery project is set to burn throughout the night.

Key points:

A 13-tonne Tesla lithium battery is on fire near Geelong
The battery was expected to be ready later this year
It was due to be the biggest battery in the southern hemisphere

The fire broke out during testing of a Tesla megapack at the Victorian Big Battery site near Geelong.

A 13-tonne lithium battery was engulfed in flames, which then spread to an adjacent battery bank.

More than 150 people from Fire Rescue Victoria and the Country Fire Authority responded to the blaze, which has been contained and will be closely monitored until it burns itself out.

“If we try and cool them down it just prolongs the process,” the CFA’s Assistant Chief Fire Officer Ian Beswicke said.

“But we could be here anywhere from 8 to 24 hours while we wait for it to burn down.”

The Tesla battery is expected to become the largest battery in the southern hemisphere as part of a Victorian Government push to transition to renewable energy.

Full story here.

HT/Roger