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Lithium battery explosion causes urban fire "fear"

Feb 15, 2019   Pageview:668

The new era of large batteries has already prompted scrutiny in the United States and Europe after fiery electric vehicle collisions. Now, urban planners in the United States are concerned about the risk of these power storage devices burning uncontrollably as they enter basements and roofs.

"You can set these things on fire, and a few hours or days later, they can be reignited," a new challenge for first responders, said Paul Rogers, who led the city's efforts to establish battery safety standards until his retirement earlier this year as a lieutenant in the fire department. Firefighters - "if they misbehave - they could be killed," he said.

Improvements in energy storage are revolutionizing how and when electricity is used. Batteries can now power everything from hand-held devices such as smart phones to electric cars around the world. In the latest trend, battery racks stacked the size of one-bedroom apartments have been installed in urban Spaces such as office buildings and shopping malls. The devices allow buyers to tap low-cost and renewable energy sources and provide backup power during widespread blackouts.

But the same chemicals that make lithium-ion batteries so effective also pose a hazard. Although fire is rare, overheating devices can ignite. Although water can extinguish the battery, it costs more than usual. High-profile fires involving mobile phones, laptops, electric cars and even jumbo jets have prompted some city officials to call for more caution and clearer standards before storage units end up in buildings.

New York's efforts to review the safety of these battery systems have limited their deployment, according to a report by the electric power institute, a research group. Recently, new York-based utility Consolidated Edison, said that while four outdoor Spaces had been approved, the building had not had a single li-ion battery system installed.

In the case of the New York fire department, it was not intended to delay installation. Ronald Spadavola, the agency's director of fire protection, said the agency simply wanted to make sure "the facilities meet the appropriate safety standards."

"A lot of code officers, they don't know what to do with lithium ion batteries," Rogers said.

Lithium-ion batteries are much cheaper - down nearly 80% since 2010 - as demand for electric cars increases. That has increased the appeal of utility integrated batteries that can store intermittent energy from wind and solar farms. Commercial building owners can deploy batteries to buy energy when electricity is cheap, and then use them to power air conditioners and lights during hot summer months when electricity prices soar.

California, New York and Massachusetts have set targets for increasing grid storage, and New York City wants to deploy 100 megawatt-hours by 2020 - enough to provide an hour of widespread electricity supply to 25,000 to 80,000 homes anywhere, according to residential power estimates.

As rare as battery fires are, one of the world's most advanced jetliners - e-cigarettes, laptops, and even regular batteries in battery packs, the Boeing 787 has led to government restrictions and dire headlines. In 2012, an energy storage system made of lead-acid batteries caught fire near a wind farm in Hawaii.

The national transportation safety board has opened an investigation into two recent fires at Tesla motors and one last year. The national highway traffic safety administration, the agency that sets vehicle safety standards, said it was gathering information about a recent episode in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Swissspecial are studying the deadly Tesla crash that sparked a fire last week.

More research

Some government officials like these are urging more research into the risks of larger batteries in buildings. A unit can be as small as a school locker and as large as a standard 8 by 20 foot container.

"The installation of lithium ions and other new energy storage technologies presents exciting opportunities but also significant safety concerns," said Spadafora. "The scale required to power buildings and building systems can create significant fire and life safety hazards."

In San Francisco, the fire department says lithium-ion batteries in buildings with capacity greater than 20 kilowatt-hours must comply with city and California fire regulations for fixed battery systems. The rules include placing the battery in a separate room with an automatic sprinkler, ventilation and smoke detection system.

New York has been cautious about green lighting, in part because of the density of the nation's largest city. The fire department said it had taken time to develop its own guidelines allowing researchers to conduct tests to help determine appropriate safety measures.

Setting standards

"A lot of city governments are waiting to hear what New York is doing," Rogers said.

Last month, the New York City fire and construction department, the city university of New York, the New York state department of energy research and development, and utility company Edison published a guide to allowing and connecting outdoor lithium-ion systems.

"What we're trying to do is scale this up," said TriaCase, director of sustainability for energy storage guidelines at the city university of New York. "There is a need for standards so that every project does not have to go through a case study."

New York City should have guidelines for installing indoor storage systems by the end of the year, case said. This should help reduce deployment time and system costs.

So far, efforts to develop consistent regulations have not created any bottlenecks in installation, according to Kelly Speakes-Backman, chief executive of the Washington-based energy storage association.

'of course, safety is our number one concern,' Speakes-Backman said in an interview last month at an industry conference in Boston. "We are participating in working groups to help ensure that these standards are safe and reasonable."

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