A joint study by EPRI, PNNL and TWAICE analyzes aggregated failure data and reveals underlying causes for battery storage failures, offering invaluable insights and recommendations for future engineering and operation.
What is the first publicly available analysis of battery energy storage system failures?
Claimed as the first publicly available analysis of battery energy storage system (BESS) failures, the work is largely based on EPRI's BESS Failure Incident Database and looks at the root causes of a number of events inputted to it.
These articles explain the background of Lithium-ion battery systems, key issues concerning the types of failure, and some guidance on how to identify the cause(s) of the failures. Failure can occur for a number of external reasons including physical damage and exposure to external heat, which can lead to thermal runaway.
Are battery energy storage systems safe?
Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) have become integral to modern energy grids, providing essential services such as load balancing, renewable energy integration, and backup power. However, as with any complex technological system, BESS are susceptible to failures impacting their performance, safety, and reliability.
Other battery types are also being developed, such as Lithium-air, solid state and flow batteries, and as experience with BESS increases, it is important to keep up to date with this rapidly evolving technology. BakerRisk continues to monitor developments and will provide further updates as more information and knowledge becomes available.
The BOM declined to comment about the batteries' failure rate. An Optus spokesperson said: "Optus is actively working through plans to ensure that our services and infrastructure are not impacted."
New projects are the most likely to experience a failure, with 72% of incidents occurring during construction, commissioning or within the first two years of operation. A fire broke out yesterday (16 January) at the Moss Landing facility which houses what was once the world's largest BESS, owned by Vistra Energy, in California, US.