Two firefighters killed after Beijing battery blaze

An explosion occurred as firefighters were dealing with a fire in a 25 MWh lithium-iron phosphate battery associated with a 1.4 MW rooftop array at a shopping mall in the Chinese capital on Friday.
The fire occurred in the Chinese capital on Friday afternoon. | Image: wuwow/Pixabay

Beijing Fire Station is investigating the cause of a fire at a lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) battery which claimed the lives of two firefighters at a shopping mall in the Chinese capital on Friday.

The city fire station said it received reports of a fire at the Jimei Home Dahongmen store at 12:17 p.m. and dispatched 235 firefighters with 47 fire trucks from 15 fire stations.

The 25 MWhdc battery facility, developed by Beijing Gotion Full-Service Co Ltd and commissioned in March 2019, featured northern and southern sections and the fire station said, while dealing with the blaze at the southern section of the battery, at 14:15 p.m., an explosion occurred in the north section, killing two firefighters and wounding a third. A member of staff of Beijing Gotion Full-Service has been described as missing since the incident.

The battery was part of a system which also featured 1.4 MW of solar generation capacity on the roof of the shopping mall and 94 electric vehicle (EV) parking places with associated charging points. At the time of its commissioning, Beijing Gotion Full-Service described the system as the world’s largest user-facing energy storage system; the biggest EV charging station in Beijing city center; the first project to combine PV, storage and EV charging; and the first regional, direct-current, incremental-grid set-up.

Beijing Fire Station said the blaze was extinguished at 23:40 p.m. on Friday and cooling treatment was then carried out.

Hefei-based, Shenzhen-listed battery company Gotion High-tech – the controlling shareholder of Beijing Gotion Full-Service – on Saturday expressed “deep sorrow for the firemen who died in the accident,” to local media, and said it did not participate in the daily operation and management of the battery developer.

Gotion High-tech is ranked among China’s five biggest battery suppliers and in 2019 shipped 3.2 GWh of products, to claim 5.2% of the market.

This copy was amended on 22/04/21 to reflect the person described as missing since the incident is a member of staff of Beijing Gotion Full-Service, not a member of the fire service, as previously written.

Written by

Comments

zinc-ion batteries – Thoughtful Journalism About Energy's Future
Oct 25, 2023

[…] The flammable and toxic solvent based electrolyte of lithium-ion batteries is replaced with a water-based alternative, removing the risk of fire and explosion. […]

Lithium-Ion Batteries Aren’t Good Enough To Power A Renewable Future — This New Battery Could Be – CitrixNews
Oct 22, 2023

[…] flammable and toxic solvent-based electrolyte of lithium-ion batteries is replaced with a water-based alternative, removing the risk of fire and […]

Forget Lithium: are Zinc Batteries a Better Way Forward? – EthicalMarkets.com
Sep 18, 2023

[…] The flammable and toxic solvent based electrolyte of lithium-ion batteries is replaced with a water-based alternative, removing the risk of fire and explosion. […]

100% Renewable Energy – How zinc-ion batteries may solve our renewable energy storage problem | Red, Green, and Blue
Sep 17, 2023

[…] flammable and toxic solvent based electrolyte of lithium-ion batteries is replaced with a water-based alternative, removing the risk of fire and […]

How zinc-ion batteries might remedy our renewable vitality storage downside – VABNA MAGAZINE
Sep 16, 2023

[…] flammable and poisonous solvent primarily based electrolyte of lithium-ion batteries is changed with a water-based different, eradicating the danger of fireside and […]

How zinc-ion batteries may solve our renewable energy storage problem – African Students
Sep 16, 2023

[…] flammable and toxic solvent based electrolyte of lithium-ion batteries is replaced with a water-based alternative, removing the risk of fire and […]

How Zinc-Ion Batteries may solve our Renewable Energy Storage Problem – CiviPress.News
Sep 16, 2023

[…] flammable and toxic solvent based electrolyte of lithium-ion batteries is replaced with a water-based alternative, removing the risk of fire and […]

How zinc-ion batteries may solve our renewable energy storage problem – Resource Industry News
Sep 16, 2023

[…] flammable and toxic solvent based electrolyte of lithium-ion batteries is replaced with a water-based alternative, removing the risk of fire and […]

Forget lithium: are zinc batteries a better way forward? – Sustainable Finance Today
Sep 14, 2023

[…] The flammable and toxic solvent based electrolyte of lithium-ion batteries is replaced with a water-based alternative, removing the risk of fire and explosion. […]

Solving the renewable energy storage problem using zinc-ion batteries – Renewable Energy News
Sep 13, 2023

[…] The flammable and toxic solvent based electrolyte of lithium-ion batteries is replaced with a water-based alternative, removing the risk of fire and explosion. […]

How zinc-ion batteries may solve our renewable energy storage problem
Sep 13, 2023

[…] flammable and toxic solvent based electrolyte of lithium-ion batteries is replaced with a water-based alternative, removing the risk of fire and […]

Lithium-ion batteries are fueling the fire on a burning cargo ship full of Porsches – Quartz – Ecargyan.com
Oct 23, 2022

[…] 3 days. An electric ferry in Norway caught hearth in 2019, and in April 2021, a battery hearth at a Beijing mall killed two firefighters.As well as, car-carrying ships and ferries can face higher risks from […]

Losses Estimated at $334M For Cargo Ship Fire, as Lithium-Ion Batteries Burned More Than a Week – Audi Cars News and Updates
Feb 27, 2022

[…] addition, car-carrying ships and ferries can face higher risks from fires, according to insurer Allianz Global’s head of marine risk. Due to the internal areas not […]

Losses Estimated at $334M For Cargo Ship Fire, as Lithium-Ion Batteries Burned More Than a Week – DZTECHNO
Feb 27, 2022

[…] addition, car-carrying ships and ferries can face higher risks from fires, according to insurer Allianz Global’s head of marine risk. Due to the internal areas not […]

Losses Estimated at $334M For Cargo Ship Fire, as Lithium-Ion Batteries Burned More Than a Week – BBC Business Update
Feb 27, 2022

[…] addition, car-carrying ships and ferries can face higher risks from fires, according to insurer Allianz Global’s head of marine risk. Due to the internal areas not […]

YeoPaper – Your Source Of Daily World News Crypto Business Technology & Sports News
Feb 21, 2022

[…] for 3 days. An electric ferry in Norway caught fire in 2019, and in April 2021, a battery fire at a Beijing mall killed two […]

Electric vehicles make it harder to quell fire on Felicity Ace cargo ship — Quartz- webtoday.us
Feb 21, 2022

[…] three days. An electric ferry in Norway caught fire in 2019, and in April 2021, a battery fire at a Beijing mall killed two […]

Electric vehicles make it harder to quell fire on Felicity Ace cargo ship — Quartz – Elite News
Feb 21, 2022

[…] three days. An electric ferry in Norway caught fire in 2019, and in April 2021, a battery fire at a Beijing mall killed two […]

Electric vehicles make it harder to quell fire on Felicity Ace cargo ship — Quartz- Vigour Times
Feb 21, 2022

[…] three days. An electric ferry in Norway caught fire in 2019, and in April 2021, a battery fire at a Beijing mall killed two […]

Lithium-ion batteries are fueling the fire on a burning cargo ship full of Porches – Techio
Feb 21, 2022

[…] three days. An electric ferry in Norway caught fire in 2019, and in April 2021, a battery fire at a Beijing mall killed two […]

Grid-Scale Lithium-ion Batteries – the Next Grenfell? – The Faversham Society
Jun 11, 2021

[…] firefighters were killed. The blaze was attended by 47 fire engines and 235 firefighters. Read the full report in pv magazine a monthly trade publication for the international photovoltaics (PV) […]