This is a catalog of all publicly known major ESS fires, explosions and other failures across the world. It is maintained by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI).
You can access the database here: EPRI Wiki.
The 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. The database was created to inform energy storage industry stakeholders and the public on BESS failures.
Tracking information about systems that have experienced an incident, including age, manufacturer, chemistry, and application, could inform R&D actions taken by the industry to improve storage safety. The focus of the database is on incidents that had a wider public health and safety impact, rather than on operational failures. Some helpful definitions follow:
- BESS: A stationary energy storage system using battery technology. The focus of the database is on lithium ion technologies, but other battery technology failure incidents are included.
- Failure incident: An occurrence caused by a BESS system or component failure which resulted in increased safety risk. For lithium ion BESS, this is typically a thermal risk such as fire or explosion.
- Utility-scale: This refers to systems and projects that are interconnected to the grid.
- C&I: This includes systems and projects that are behind-the-meter installations. Residential system failures are not currently tracked. Note that the Stationary Energy Storage Failure Incidents table tracks both utility-scale and C&I system failures.