Energy Storage System maker Viridi held a demonstration event to showcase its fire-suppressing technology for lithium-ion battery energy storage systems (ESS).
The US-firm demonstrated its ‘fail-safe’ ESS at an event to highlight how thermal ‘challenges’ – such as thermal runaway – can trigger system-wide risk.
In partnership with Soteria Battery Innovation Group, the firms hosted their ‘No Heat Zone: Battery Storage Redefined’ event at Viridi’s US Renewable Energy Center of Excellence in Buffalo, New York.
The event included a series of live battery-burn demonstrations – where ESSs were put into thermal runaway to test how technology can contain thermal runaway incidents.
The event tested the ability of two systems to contain thermal runaway.
The first used two standard battery packs without anti-propagation features. This triggered cell-to-cell propagation, resulting in heat spreading throughout the entire module.
The second used Viridi’s pack, which uses its thermal isolation and anti-propagation barriers. The firm said its pack was able to contain cell-to-cell propagation by isolating a thermal-runaway incident to a single cell with no secondary reactions.
Viridi’s ESS uses advanced AI and connectivity to enable remote monitoring. The solution doesn’t require additional HVAC, fire suppression, or construction retrofits.
The technology has been deployed in commercial and municipal buildings, manufacturing facilities, and high-traffic environments where traditional battery systems are too risky to install.
Attendees also heard from the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) safety experts, took part in hands-on tours, explored next-generation anti-propagation battery technologies.
In January, the New York Fire Department (FDNY) announced the city had six deaths related to lithium-ion batteries in 2024, compared to 18 deaths in the year before. In total, 277 fires were caused by lithium-ion batteries last year, compared to 268 in 2023. Of these, 133 were non-structural, meaning they occurred outdoors. LINK
Lt. John Cassidy of the FDNY said that when it came to battery fires, every second counts—and every layer of safety matters.
