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.

What happened at Gateway energy storage facility?

On May 15, 2024, Gateway Energy Storage Facility in San Diego, California, experienced a BESS fire with continued flare-ups for seven days following the fire. The facility held about 15,000 nickel manganese cobalt lithium-ion batteries.

What are energy storage systems (ESS)?

Energy storage systems (ESS) are being installed in the United States and all over the world at an accelerating rate, and the majority of these installations use lithium-ion-based battery technology.

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).

When should explosion prevention systems be installed?

If there are enough batteries in a room to create an explosive atmosphere, then explosion prevention systems or deflagration venting should be installed per NFPA 68, Standard on Explosion Protection by Deflagration Venting, and NFPA 69, Standard on Explosion Prevention Systems.

What is the energy storage capacity of the world?

Introduction According to the International Energy Agency (2020), worldwide energy storage system capacity nearly doubled from 2017 to 2018, to reach over 8 GWh. The total installed storage power in 2018 was about 1.7 GW. About 85% of the storage capacity is from lithium-ion batteries.