Fire at a battery storage project during the construction phase, UK

In February 2025 a fire occurred at a battery energy storage project under construction in the UK. The event is referenced in UK parliamentary library research material on battery storage safety. The available material records only that a fire took place during the construction phase. The emergency response, the extent of damage and the cause are not described in the source, and no findings from any formal investigation are reflected here.

No contributing factors have been published for this incident. The cited material identifies it only as a construction phase event. The following are general considerations for the construction and commissioning phases rather than findings about this site: safety and protection systems may be only partially commissioned; fire detection and suppression may not be at full operational state; several contractor parties may be on site with overlapping scopes; and duties under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations apply but can be less familiar in practice on newer asset types.

1. Designate and document the principal contractor and the interface with the client and equipment suppliers before any energisation, and record it in the construction phase plan.
2. Use staged commissioning with written hold points, so that each stage of energisation is authorised against defined safety milestones rather than carried out ad hoc.
3. Confirm in writing, before first energisation, which fire detection, suppression, isolation and ventilation systems are live and which are not, and place compensatory measures where systems are incomplete.
4. Prepare a construction phase emergency response plan that is separate from the operational plan and reflects partial energisation, temporary access routes and the presence of multiple contractors.
5. Engage the local fire and rescue service before construction begins, covering both build and operational scenarios, including site access, water supply and isolation arrangements.
6. Control the storage, charge state and separation of batteries delivered to site ahead of installation.