Featured in Material change – 03-2024

FAT for fitness

Large-scale, stationary battery energy storage systems (BESS’) have rapidly become crucial components of modern power grids. With the increasing adoption of BESS’, however, the risk of battery fires has increased, as Jeff Zwijack, of Clean Energy Associates (CEA), reports.

By

pv magazine

11 Mar 2024

A fire broke out in 2021 at the Victorian Big Battery in Moorabool, Australia. | Photo: Fire Rescue Victoria

Lithium batteries are powerful but fragile and they contain a potent, flammable electrolyte. When a lithium battery enters a state of “thermal runaway,” it suffers an irreversible chemical reaction that cannot be stopped. Once initiated, a battery in thermal runaway releases a substantial amount of heat and energy – a problem that is becoming more …

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