Why can energy storage power stations catch fire

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

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

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. According to the Korea Joongang Daily (2019), there were 23 reported fires between August 2017 and December 2018 in South Korea alone, which has the largest number of energy storage battery installations.

What are some causes of lithium-ion battery explosions?

Some of these batteries have experienced troubling fires and explosions due to deflagration pressure and gas burning velocity and high-voltage arc induced explosion pressures. Utility-scale lithium-ion energy storage batteries are being installed at an accelerating rate in many parts of the world.

Why is a delayed explosion battery ESS incident important?

One delayed explosion battery ESS incident is particularly noteworthy because the severe firefighter injuries and unusual circumstances in this incident were widely reported (Renewable Energy World, 2019).

What causes smaller battery explosions?

Smaller explosions are often due to energetic arc flashes within modules or rack electrical protection enclosures. 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 can initiate a thermal runaway gas explosion?

The thermal runaway gas explosion scenarios, which can be initiated by various electrical faults, can be either prompt ignitions soon after a large flammable gas mixture is formed, or delayed ignitions associated with late entry of air and/or loss of gaseous fire suppression agent.