Lithium-ion batteries power the phones, tools, headphones, e-bikes and scooters that millions of people depend on every day. They also present a fire risk that firefighters across North America and beyond are confronting with increasing frequency.
The International Association of Fire Fighters has published an overview of the rise in lithium-ion battery fires, describing the hazards these incidents pose to residents and responders. The trend is visible in local data. Toronto has recorded a record 124 lithium-ion battery fires so far this year, according to CBC News, and Ontario is planning to ban the modification of batteries, a practice that can undermine built-in protections.
In the United States, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced on Nov. 5 a Bose recall covering approximately 635,000 battery packs. Across the Atlantic, the London Fire Brigade counted 129 e-bike and e-scooter fires between January and August 2026, down from 145 over the same period in 2025. The settings differ, but the underlying chemistry, and the challenge, are the same.
Regulators, fire services and manufacturers are responding with recalls, product standards, rules on modification and charging, and public education. Those steps are essential. Yet they share a limitation: most act before a product is sold or after a fire has started. Less attention has gone to what happens in the minutes and seconds inside the battery itself, when a cell begins to overheat and thermal runaway threatens to spread through the pack.
Prediction, detection and suppression at the cell and pack level address that gap. Earlier recognition of abnormal behavior, reliable detection when runaway begins, and measures to keep it from propagating could, if validated, add a layer of protection that complements existing standards and enforcement.
DELTTA SUNMASS INNOVATIONS LLC of Great Neck, New York, is developing one such approach. Its DELTTA NEX GEN architecture, which is patent-pending, is designed to combine thermal runaway prediction, detection and suppression. The company is direct about its status: NEX GEN is in development. It is not certified, it has not been proven, and its proposed performance targets are subject to independent evaluation and certification. It is not endorsed by any fire service, regulator or standards body.
Instead, the company is inviting scientists, engineers, testing laboratories and fire services in the U.S., Canada and elsewhere to examine the architecture independently and to report what they find.
“Firefighters, regulators and manufacturers are all working on this problem. Our contribution is a development-stage architecture focused on the battery itself, and we want independent experts to test it rigorously before anyone relies on it.” — Dr. Philip H. M. Thomas, Founder, Group Chairman & Global CEO, DELTTA SUNMASS INNOVATIONS LLC
The rise in battery fires is a shared problem that no single product or policy will solve. Progress will come from many contributors, and from a willingness to put new ideas through rigorous, independent testing before asking the public to rely on them.
Contact for evaluation inquiries and responses: contactdeltta@delttagroup.com | greentechlabs@delttagroup.com
Sources
- International Association of Fire Fighters, “What to know about the rise in lithium-ion battery fires”: https://www.iaff.org/news/what-to-know-about-the-rise-in-lithium-ion-battery-fires/
- CBC News, Toronto lithium-ion battery fire regulations: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-lithium-ion-battery-fire-regulations-9.7411152
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, “Bose Recalls Lithium-Ion Battery Packs for S1 Pro and S1 Pro+ Bluetooth Speaker Systems” (Nov. 5, 2026): https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2027/Bose-Recalls-Lithium-Ion-Battery-Packs-for-S1-Pro-and-S1-Pro-Bluetooth-Speaker-Systems-Due-to-Risk-of-Injury-from-Fire-and-Overheating-Hazards-0
- London Fire Brigade, #ChargeSafe release with e-bike and e-scooter fire statistics, January–August 2026 (Oct. 20, 2026): https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/news/2026-news/october/brigade-s-chargesafe-campaign-celebrates-phenomenal-success-of-deliveroo-partnership/
- DELTTA NEX GEN video presentation: https://sunmass.delttagreentech.com/watch/