Independent energy and certification body DNV GL found weaknesses in monitoring and prevention lead to ‘major issues’ and subsequent fire in South Korean energy storage system.
The body’s findings follow an in-depth investigation into a fire at a large-scale energy storage facility in South Korean that pinpointed a ‘minor manufacturing glitch’ that initiated the failure.
The investigation found insufficient monitoring and protection systems allowed the failure to escalate into a major fire.
A company spokesman told BEST Battery Briefing that they could not provide further information on the details of the glitch.
Korea government has launched a review and upgrade of the country’s safety regulations for energy storage facilities after a number of high-profile failures and fires at energy storage facilities in recent years— with 23 reported fires in 2018.
Nicolas Renon, Executive Vice President Asia Pacific, at DNV GL – Energy, said: “Our in-depth and independent analysis of the incident highlighted differences between South Korean and international safety standards that can potentially make small failures more likely.
“The South Korean government is already in the process of reviewing its regulations, but we strongly recommend that its energy storage systems project developers invest more time and intention in adequate monitoring and protection systems to stop these small failures becoming major, costly and highly expensive incidents.”
DNV GL has now been contracted to determine ways to assess the future usability of an ESS that has suffered a fire, such as validating the state of a battery and determining how much of it remains functional.
