An Australian student is issuing a warning about the dangers of lithium batteries after his portable charger exploded in his car – and it wasn’t even plugged in or in use.
Sam, 19, feels lucky to be alive after returning to his parked black Mazda CX3 to find the interior destroyed in the Sydney suburb of Hornsby at around 2pm on Wednesday, May 8.
He had left his Cygnett portable mobile charger unplugged on the front passenger seat on a “cold, rainy day”. The unit, purchased 18 months earlier, had not been used recently.
The University of Sydney student had parked on Sherbrook Road at 9am before his shopping shift at the local Westfield, and then met up with his sister Flynn, 21, to go shopping.
Sam told Daily Mail Australia the couple returned to the car but didn’t know anything was wrong until he opened the driver’s door.
Sam told Daily Mail Australia that he and his sister returned to the car but didn’t know anything was wrong until he opened the driver’s door.
The university student realized his Cygnett ‘ChargeUp Reserve 20,000’ device had exploded when he saw the roof, which came off and was dripping with ‘something sticky’.
“Everything was sticky and something sticky was dripping from the ceiling and sticking to the driver’s seat,” he said.
“There was smoke inside the car and the windows were darkened with soot and charred.”
Incredulous, the student said his only thought was that he had got the wrong car.
“I opened the door, looked inside, then closed it and went to check the license plate because there was no way it was my car,” he said.
“After I saw it was my license plate, that’s when it hit me.”
Sam walked around to the passenger side where he had left the charger and the two brothers stared at them in shock.
“At first I thought it had melted through the seat because there’s a giant hole,” he said.
“So, as stupid as it sounds, I reached in to find the remains, but there was no sign, no shape of them, just peeling pieces of the car seat.”
Looking up, the college student saw that the inside of the roof was completely peeled off, with fabric hanging off the sides.
“That’s when I realized I had exploded,” he said.
Cold to the touch, Sam thinks it must have happened earlier that day.
“It was the best case scenario. “She wasn’t in the car and if she had been home, there could have been a fire,” she said.
“Before it exploded, the charger was undamaged and appeared normal.”
At first, Sam thought his popular Cygnett brand portable charger had melted on the front passenger seat (pictured), but there was no sign of it.
The damage was extensive and the student’s insurer told him it would most likely be written off, leaving the student and casual retail worker without transportation.
Sam’s insurer is now looking at the Mazda, but has been told it will most likely be cancelled.
The student now has to take the bus and train to university, but getting to work is a bigger problem as he must work in three Sydney locations for his employer.
The 19-year-old also trains football every week.
“I have to ask my mom to drop me off and pick me up and I don’t think it’s fair to have to rely on my parents and teammates to take me.”
Sam is concerned that people are not aware of the dangers of lithium batteries.
“No one I know has been aware of any risks or problems with lithium batteries and portable chargers,” he said.
‘I wasn’t aware either. I never knew this was something that could happen; I never thought this was something that could explode.
The rear seats were also damaged in the explosion (pictured)
‘After it happened I thought I would buy another charger because I thought it was one in a million, what are the chances of it happening again?’
“But after reading about other explosions, I’ll wait for now and maybe do some research because I definitely don’t want to experience that again.”
His family has now banned all lithium batteries in the home.
A spokesperson for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) told Daily Mail Australia that lithium-ion batteries are present in many household products.
“Mobile phones, laptops, tablets, electric scooters, electric bicycles, power tools and solar energy storage systems,” they said.
Sam’s charger was a 20,000 mAh second-generation Cygnett ChargeUp Reserve power bank (pictured on Cygnett’s website), capable of charging “three devices simultaneously.”
«Lithium-ion batteries are more dangerous than traditional batteries because they use different chemicals and internal processes.
‘Some incidents involving lithium ions have caused serious injuries and property damage.
“Lithium-ion batteries can overheat and catch fire if they are not manufactured, used, charged or disposed of correctly, or if they are damaged.”
In a statement in October 2023, the ACCC said an Australian had reportedly died in a lithium-ion battery fire.
‘ACCC has received 231 product safety reports relating to lithium-ion batteries over the past five years. There have also been 23 recalls affecting about 89,000 products on the market,” he stated.
Consumers are urged to check their products for visible changes and always ensure batteries cool after use and before charging.
Daily Mail Australia understands that the incident is the first known security issue that Cygnett is aware of regarding its second-generation 20,000mAh ChargeUp Reserve power bank.
A spokesperson for Cygnett told Daily Mail Australia the company is committed to “ensuring the safety and satisfaction” of its customers.
“We are taking this report of a potential safety issue related to one of our products very seriously,” they said.
“This is the first possible safety issue related to this model of power bank and we have launched an investigation.”
Cygnett also provided direct contact details for Sam to contact them.