This webinar explains how upcoming updates to battery fire codes and test standards will affect explosion prevention, enclosure performance, and large-scale fire testing, with practical insights from standards experts and manufacturers.
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As battery energy storage systems increase in size and energy density, fire codes and testing standards are tightening. The 2025 revision of UL 9540A and the 2026 edition of NFPA 855 introduce updated expectations around explosion prevention, enclosure performance and large-scale fire testing.
This webinar brings together independent standards expertise and manufacturer-led test insights to examine those developments in practical terms.
The session will open with a detailed look at UL 9540A (2025) and NFPA 855 (2026), outlining how large-scale fire testing protocols are evolving and what authorities are likely to expect from high-capacity container systems. Alex Schraiber, Senior Research Manager for UL Solutions’ Fire Research, will present this aspect.
In the second part of the webinar, Richard Ridgway, Senior Application Engineer at Hithium, will then present the company’s ∞Power 6.25 MWh container large-scale fire test. He will explain how the test was configured, what conditions were applied, and how the enclosure and internal safety systems responded under extreme thermal load.
The session will examine lessons learned and what validated test results may mean for spacing strategies, material selection and active safety system design.
This session will focus on European, Australian, Middle East, and Chinese markets.
Key discussion points include:
- Presentation and discussion of UL 9540A (2025) and NFPA 855 (2026)
- The role of full-scale fire testing in demonstrating compliance
- How validated test data is considered and presented
- Design considerations for high-energy-density containerised BESS
- The webinar will close with a live Q&A.
Questions can be submitted beforehand in the comments window when registering or in the chat during the live webinar.
Tristan Rayner, editor at pv magazine, will be the moderator of this webinar.
Registration for this webinar is free of charge.
Speakers
Richard Ridgway, Senior Application Engineer, Hithium
Senior Application Engineer specializing in utility-scale battery energy storage system design and grid integration. Experience spanning full project delivery, from system architecture and control strategy through to commissioning and handover on transmission and distribution networks.
Alex Schraiber | Senior Research Manager, UL Solutions
Alex Schraiber is Senior Research Manager for UL Solutions’ Fire Research and Development group. She coordinates research to develop, maintain, and expand UL Safety Standards, UL Test Methods, and test apparatus, as well as designing custom research projects for clients. Her research includes lithium ion batteries, battery energy storage systems, emergency fire containment for aviation, primary batteries, and gas measurements. Most recently, she led a task group within the UL 9540A Technical Committee to update its large-scale fire testing requirements. She has published research in Data In Brief, Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, Science and Technology for the Built Environment, and Fire Technology, in addition to conference presentations. Alex received a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and an MS in Fire Protection Engineering from the University of Maryland at College Park.
Moderators
Tristan Rayner | Editor, pv magazine
After studying Electrical Engineering, Tristan Rayner turned his attention to editorial roles. Prior to joining pv magazine in 2020, he was managing editor and founding editor of culture, tech and sport publications in Australia, and later contributed to publications including Android Authority, AFP, ZDNet, and YouTube channel The Friday Checkout, among other roles.
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