21 energy storage fires in south korea

What caused the energy storage system fires in South Korea?

This week South Korea announced the conclusions from their fire investigation committee regarding the root cause for the 23 energy storage system fires that have occurred since August of 2017. The lithium-ion battery fires resulted in system losses valued at over $32M USD.

How many battery fires happened in South Korea?

A series of 28 consecutive battery fires that occurred in South Korea between 2017 and 2019 led the nation's energy storage market to complete paralysis. The country's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) reached a handful of broad conclusions in its investigative report into the accidents.

How many ESS fires are there in South Korea?

Phase #1 (–June 2019, 23 Cases) According to statistics from 23 ESS fires in South Korea prior to June 2019 presented in Figure 1, a significant proportion of ESS fires broke out in small systems with a capacity of 1–5 MW, accounting for 52% of the total. Additionally, large ESSs with a capacity of 10 MW or more accounted for 24% of the incidents.

What happened at a battery installation in South Korea?

The aftermath of a fire at a battery installation in South Korea’s Chungcheongbuk province. A string of fires has brought the nation’s energy storage market to a standstill. Image: North Chungcheong Province Fire Service Headquarters

Are South Korean companies investing in energy storage systems?

While South Korean companies once held over half of the global energy storage system (ESS) market, a string of ESS-related fires and a lack of infrastructure had dampened investments in this market.

How many B-ESS fires have occurred in Korea?

B-ESS fires have occurred in Korea and elsewhere worldwide, but Korea's consecutive fire accidents are quite uncommon cases concentrated in a short period [ 7 ]. The Korean government formed an official investigation committee and conducted two investigations into the causes of the 28 fire accidents from August 2017 to June 2019 [ 8, 9 ].