List of energy storage battery safety experts

Are battery energy storage systems safe?

Owners of energy storage need to be sure that they can deploy systems safely. Over a recent 18-month period ending in early 2020, over two dozen large-scale battery energy storage sites around the world had experienced failures that resulted in destructive fires. In total, more than 180 MWh were involved in the fires.

Where can I find information on energy storage safety?

For more information on energy storage safety, visit the Storage Safety Wiki Page. The BESS Failure Incident Database was initiated in 2021 as part of a wider suite of BESS safety research after the concentration of lithium ion BESS fires in South Korea and the Surprise, AZ, incident in the US.

What is battery energy storage fire prevention & mitigation?

In 2019, EPRI began the Battery Energy Storage Fire Prevention and Mitigation – Phase I research project, convened a group of experts, and conducted a series of energy storage site surveys and industry workshops to identify critical research and development (R&D) needs regarding battery safety.

What are the different types of energy storage failure incidents?

Stationary Energy Storage Failure Incidents – this table tracks utility-scale and commercial and industrial (C&I) failures. Other Storage Failure Incidents – this table tracks incidents that do not fit the criteria for the first table. This could include failures involving the manufacturing, transportation, storage, and recycling of energy storage.

What are stationary energy storage failure incidents?

Note that the Stationary Energy Storage Failure Incidents table tracks both utility-scale and C&I system failures. It is instructive to compare the number of failure incidents over time against the deployment of BESS. The graph to the right looks at the failure rate per cumulative deployed capacity, up to 12/31/2023.

How to reduce the safety risk associated with large battery systems?

To reduce the safety risk associated with large battery systems, it is imperative to consider and test the safety at all levels, from the cell level through module and battery level and all the way to the system level, to ensure that all the safety controls of the system work as expected.