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Battery Storage Safety

On-Demand Training:
Battery Storage Safety

Recorded: April 18, 2023

Overview Agenda Instructors
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Battery energy storage systems (BESS) are now in widespread use for a variety of applications, such as frequency regulation, demand response, transmission and distribution infrastructure deferral, integration of renewable energy, and microgrids.

Yet, as storage deployment proliferates in the utility and power system mainstream, gaps in safety practices for energy storage have become apparent.  The most ubiquitous storage technology, lithium-Ion batteries – though generally safe  — have been linked to fire, explosion, and hazardous material exposure under several conditions.

This course will give attendees a thorough grounding in the basics of safe battery storage such as:

  • Familiarization with different battery types
  • Updated safety standards
  • How to design and operate for safety
  • Testing standards and decommissioning/recycling of batteries

Learning Outcomes

  • Review the different types of battery storage
  • Identify the different types of safety hazards for batteries
  • Review the hazards associated with each type of battery
  • Discuss the testing standards and certifications for safety
  • Discuss how to design for safety and operating safely
  • Examine installation measures for batteries
  • Explain how to safely operate battery storage
  • Discuss decommissioning & removal practices

Register

This is a recorded session - no instructor interaction is available. Recordings do not qualify for continuing education credits. Recordings will expire 30 days from date of purchase and sharing, downloading or copying of the recording in any way is strictly prohibited and will result in the termination of your license.

PURCHASE THIS RECORDING:

Recording license(s)$ 895.00 each

Agenda

8:45 AM - 9:00 AM

Log In

12:15 - 1:00 PM

Lunch Break

9:00 AM - 4:30 PM

Course Timing

Quick Review of Battery Types

  • Lead-Acid
  • Lithium-Ion
  • Other Non-flow chemistries that are commercial
  • Redox Flow batteries
  • Organic Flow batteries
  • Plating Flow batteries

Battery Safety Hazards

  • Leakage and spills
  • Stray voltage
  • Off-gassing
  • Thermal run away
  • Toxic fumes
  • Hazardous Waste
  • Power quality
  • Other

Battery Type vs. Hazard

  • Which battery types have which hazards
  • Variations in a chemical family (e.g. Li-Ion)

Standards That Apply to Safety

  • NFPA 855
  • NFPA (NEC) 70
  • IEEE 1625
  • IEEE 1725
  • ISO/IEC 17025
  • UN/DOT 38.3
  • Other safety standards

Testing Standards and Certifications

  • UL 1642 Lithium Cell
  • UL 2054 Safety Requirements for Household and Commercial Batteries
  • UL 2580
  • UL 1989 Standby Batteries
  • UL/CSA/IEC 60950 (may be evaluated in conjunction with UL 2054)

Designing for Safety

  • Which standards apply to your project
  • Which chemistry best fits your use case(s)
  • Optimizing non-flow batteries deployment
    • Siting considerations
    • Containment measures
  • Civil and electrical infrastructure limits/issues/concerns
  • Housing and other occupied structures around your site
  • What comes “out of the box” from the battery manufacturer
  • All hazards associated with specific chemistry chosen

General Installation Measures

  • Fire suppression system
  • The right firewalls/construction type
  • Enough room to get emergency vehicles into the site
  • Sources of water for emergency use
  • Secondary containment
  • Proper grounding
  • Arc Flash prevention/safe distances
  • Automated protection system(s) — electrical fire, off-gassing -etc.
  • Proper sensors for any hazard
  • Examples of design/code considerations for various sizes of kW

Operating Safety

  • Use case and the battery limits
  • Maintenance
  • Limits to operation

Decommissioning & Removal

  • Batteries life and variations
  • Design that incorporates decommissioning

*Throughout the discussion, to illustrate points, compare safety concerns, design issues, etc., two battery deployment examples will be used — a 1 MW/4 MWH Li-Ion battery setup and a 5MW/40 MWH flow battery

Instructor

Doug Houseman is the Grid Modernization Lead for Burns and McDonnell. He has been working on storage issues since 1980, when he was involved with a number of DOD projects.  As a long-time industry veteran, Mr. Houseman has worked on all seven continents and in more than 70 countries on grid-related issues.  Before joining the Burns & McDonnell, he was previously the Vice President for Technical Innovation at EnerNex, and the CTO for Energy at Capgemini.  He is the Chairman of the IEEE PES Grid and Emerging Technology Coordinating Committee, a member of several standards working groups, and the author of CEATI’s Distribution Utility Technology Roadmap, as well as the Low Carbon Menu.  In addition, Mr. Houseman is a member of the Gridwise Architecture Council (GWAC), chair of the IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES) Intelligent Grid and Emerging Technology Coordinating Committee, and a NIST Resiliency Fellow.

Doug Houseman

Utility Modernization Lead

Burns & McDonnell