Washington energy storage power station fire

What causes large-scale lithium-ion energy storage battery fires?

Conclusions Several large-scale lithium-ion energy storage battery fire incidents have involved explosions. The large explosion incidents, in which battery system enclosures are damaged, are due to the deflagration of accumulated flammable gases generated during cell thermal runaways within one or more modules.

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 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 many MWh of battery energy were involved in the fires?

In total, more than 180 MWh were involved in the fires. For context, Wood Mackenzie, which conducts power and renewable energy research, estimates 17.9 GWh of cumulative battery energy storage capacity was operating globally in that same period, implying that nearly 1 out of every 100 MWh had failed in this way.1

How many energy storage battery fires are there?

Unfortunately, there have been a large number of energy storage battery fires in the past few years. For example, in South Korea, which has by far the largest number of energy storage battery installations, there were 23 reported fires between August 2017 and December 2018 according to the Korea Joongang Daily (2019).

Where can I find information on energy storage failures?

For up-to-date public data on energy storage failures, see the EPRI BESS Failure Event Database.2 The Energy Storage Integration Coun-cil (ESIC) Energy Storage Reference Fire Hazard Mitigation Analysis (ESIC Reference HMA),3 illustrates the complexity of achieving safe storage systems.