Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Battery Factory Catches Fire

A plant owned by Samsung SDI Co., a supplier of batteries to the infamously explosion-prone Samsung Galaxy Note 7 has caught fire in Tianjin, Northern China recently but was quickly put out. Samsung SDI is one of two battery suppliers for the smartphone that was phased out in a global recall (together with China’s Ameperex Technology Ltd). and the company put out a statement via spokesperson Shin Yong-doo that the fire did not occur in their production facility but in the waste deposit area so the schedule is not affected. The Tianjin plant is one of five production centers by Samsung SDI in China.

Photos began circulating on Weibo (a Chinese equivalent of Twitter social media service) several hours ago when large amounts of black smoke started rising from the facility.   The faulty lithium batteries are said to be the cause of the accident according to the Wuqing branch of the Tianjin fire department on their verified Weibo  account. It took 110 firefighters and 19 trucks were sent to contain the fire. Samsung Electronics has completed their probe of the exploding Galaxy Note 7’s and has concluded unequivocally that the batteries are to blame for the seemingly random combustion. Samsung SDI for their part has invested $129 million in safety and in preparation for Samsung’s next Galaxy S8 smartphone model which will use their batteries.