What makes an ESS a fire hazard?

From a fire protection standpoint, the overall fire hazard of any ESS is dependent on the characteristics of all the combustible system components, including battery chemistry, battery format (e.g., cylindrical, prismatic, polymer pouch), battery capacity and energy density, materials of construction, and component design (e.g., battery, module).

Can a lithium-ion battery energy storage system detect a fire?

Since December 2019, Siemens has been offering a VdS-certified fire detection concept for stationary lithium-ion battery energy storage systems.* Through Siemens research with multiple lithium-ion battery manufacturers, the FDA unit has proven to detect a pending battery fire event up to 5 times faster than competitive detection technologies.

What is the NFPA 855 standard for stationary energy storage systems?

Setting up minimum separation from walls, openings, and other structural elements. The National Fire Protection Association NFPA 855 Standard for the Installation of Stationary Energy Storage Systems provides the minimum requirements for mitigating hazards associated with ESS of diferent battery types.

Is fire suppression equipment included in an ESS?

suppression equipment may or may not be provided as an integral part of an ESS, or it may be optional. Depending on the case, the ESS shall comply with all applicable performance requirements in the standard with and/or without the fire detection and fire suppression equipment in place and operational.

Does thermal runaway lead to a self-propagating fire?

The free-burn tests of small- to large-scale ESS systems are reported in this paper. Small-scale ESS tests showed that thermal runaway could lead to a self-propagating fire for both the LFP and LNO/LMO battery chemistries, with a significantly greater heat release rate generated from the LNO/LMO battery chemistry.

What are the NFPA 855 fire-fighting considerations for lithium-ion batteries?

For example, an extract of Annex C Fire-Fighting Considerations (Operations) in NFPA 855 states the following in C.5.1 Lithium-Ion (Li-ion) Batteries: Water is considered the preferred agent for suppressing lithium-ion battery fires.