A burning issue

Deployment of lithium-ion battery storage systems is growing rapidly, with Wood Mackenzie recently predicting that the U.S. market alone could be worth $4.7 billion within the next five years. Demand is rising for both grid-scale and behind-the-meter applications in a number of markets throughout the world, particularly in East Asia, the global hub of lithium-ion battery production. But a recent string of fires in South Korea – one of the world’s biggest markets for stationary storage, thanks to a concerted government push – has rekindled smoldering concerns about safety.