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Last one for this evening.
In April 2019 a fire was reported at a Lithium Ion storage system run by Arizona Public Services (APS) on West Deer Valley Road, Surprise, Arizona. The fire was first reported at 5 pm and was attended by first responders and specialists from the Battery Manufacturer, Fluence and Arizona Public Services. The fire appeared to be under control when, three hours later Fire fighters opened the container to access the battery internals. The admission of fresh air (Oxygen) created an air fuel ratio sufficient to produce an explosion.
Four firemen were injured when the gases exploded. The men’s facemasks and helmets were blown off. The injuries were staggering: a skull fracture, a collapsed lung, a broken rib, a broken leg and a sliced artery in a leg, a thoracic fracture, burns and cuts, plus broken noses, ankles and wrists. The fire-fighters were also burned by acid and base chemicals that probably came from the batteries that exploded.
The local Fire Chief is warning home owners to only fit domestic Lithium Ion battery systems on the outside of their homes, no closer than three feet from any door or window opening.
In August 2019 Sandra Kennedy, Commissioner at the Arizona Corporation Commission in response to the severity of Lithium Ion Battery fires and explosions commented that:
“The energy stored at a 250MW facility is equivalent to 215 tons of TNT. Also, large amounts of Hydrogen Fluoride could be released and dispersed that would affect and harm the public at a substantial distance downwind. There would be concerns about the lingering Hydrogen Fluoride contamination in the affected areas.”
Finally to explain the risks associated with Hydrogen Fluoride.
Upon contact with moisture, including tissue, hydrogen fluoride immediately converts to hydrofluoric acid, which is highly corrosive and toxic. Exposure requires immediate medical attention. It can cause blindness by rapid destruction of the corneas. Breathing in hydrogen fluoride at high levels or in combination with skin contact can cause death from an irregular heartbeat or from fluid build-up in the lungs.
In January 2019 South Korea ordered a shutdown of 522 ESS units after reports that 23 Li-Ion energy storage system (ESS) fires had occurred since August of 2017, this amounted to 35% of their market. The losses incurred in these 23 fires amounted to an estimated $32 Million US. A full investigation was begun to establish the cause of the failures.
In June 2019 the Investigation team reported that they had determined four root causes that had contributed to the loss of the Lithium Ion storage systems.
Insufficient battery protection systems against electric shock.
The systems lacked sufficient protection against grounding or short circuit. This high current resulted in fires at the bus bars within the ESS.
Inadequate management of operating environment
Of the 23 incidents 18 where sited in environments prone to large temperature swings, high humidity and elevated levels of dust and other particulates. The high humidity and drying cycles produced residues, the build up of which was aggravated by the associated air cooling systems. This resulted again in internal short circuit and fire.
Faulty Installations
Several installation faults were found including incorrect wiring and physical damage to the battery cells.
ESS System Integration
The software integration of the battery management system (BMS), energy management system (EMS), and power management system (PMS) was found to have weaknesses within the various communication modules resulting in both overcharging and over supply, both of which lead to conditions which may result in a fire.
There's clearly Alfen and Toshiba 40 foot containers there. The SCLE battery, which appeared to be on flames was either replaced by a 20 foot container with a similar logo or google shows imagery from before the fire. There do seem to be some separated components, which may be inverters - they don't look like the parts of the GE Sodium Nickel Chloride thing that was in Rosherville.
On 11th of November 2017 at an ESS test centre in Drogenbos , Belgium the French multinational utility Engie suffered a fire which destroyed one containerised 1MW Lithium Ion Battery; no one was injured in this incident.
The system was not connected to the grid when the fire broke out and the facility was fully equipped with fire detection and extinguishing systems. It is evident though from this Youtube link that these systems failed to extinguish the flames. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IElPzxj37dw
It is unclear where Ineo sourced the batteries for its Drogenbos system although Ineo Scle Sfe, Alfen, GE, and Younicos were known suppliers to the site. Local news coverage however does show a container on fire with the SCLE motif on it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZqlz9EXZpY
Engie was aiming to test battery systems under identical conditions. The company ultimately plans to use Drogenbos as a test bed for other energy storage technologies, including compressed air, flywheels and redox flow batteries (VRFB).
I understand the censure, lets say resticters instead
Thermal runaway is an irreversible event within a Lithium Ion battery which may be caused by internal or external short circuit, overcharging, mechanical damage or overheating which can result in fire and or explosion.
The electrolyte within a Lithium Ion Battery is flammable and contains several Lithium salts which in turn contain fluorine. In the event of overheating the electrolyte will evaporate and be vented out of the battery cells which in certain conditions could become explosive. Should the situation advance to a fire the intense heat may breakdown the electrolyte and the other components of the battery, including flame ******ants and separators within the cell stacks producing gases such as Hydrogen Fluoride and Phosphorus Pentafluoride.
These gases may or may not ignite immediately, a situation that introduces the risks of asphyxiation, poisoning or explosive injuries.