Originally Posted by
SonicFlyer
Simple solution... just install a halon system in the cabin
I know you jest...but the crux is, halon doesn't work on Li battery fires. Halon works in conventional fires by displacing oxygen. Lithium batteries are self-oxidizing.
Lithium batteries are popular for one reason: they have the highest energy-density you can get in a battery.
The problem with packing a lot of energy in a small space: regardless of the energy source, this has the potential to be a "bomb." Gas in a can, tritonal in a steel case, Semtex, or Lithium paste in a battery.
The solution really should be what they did with the 787 after ITS Lithium battery fires: they put the battery in a steel containment box. The Litium fire can't breach the box, but it gets hot. The box is thermally isolated to prevent contact fires on the outside.
Personally, I'd like to see a small steel baggage pod for Li-powered devices.
Cargo fires have always worried me. Read the transcript of UPS 6, and you will wonder how politicians can value revenue over life.