Fire in single battery unit at Thurrock BESS under construction
EIR-0109In 2025 a fire broke out in a single containerised battery unit at Thurrock BESS, a large battery energy storage project in East Tilbury, Essex, England, being developed by Statera Energy, that was still under construction and not yet operational. The fire was reported in the late afternoon and the site was evacuated as a precaution. Fire crews attended within around ten minutes and used a water curtain to limit spread to neighbouring units. The fire was reported as fully extinguished by the following afternoon, after which the fire service scaled back its response and handed the site back to site management. No injuries were reported and responders stated there was no risk to the wider public. Construction activities resumed within a few days while an investigation into the root cause was carried out.
According to the fire service, a fault within one or more battery cells inside a single containerised unit led to ignition. Factors cited as helping to contain the incident were the spacing between battery units and the availability of firefighting water supplies on or near the site. No further findings had been published at the time of reporting.
- Maintain and verify the designed physical separation between containerised battery units during construction, as spacing can prevent propagation when an internal cell fault leads to ignition.
- Confirm firefighting water provision and access routes are in place and known to the local fire service before energisation, so that intervention is not delayed by the site being incomplete.
- Agree emergency response plans, site contacts and evacuation arrangements with responders from the start of the construction phase, not only from commissioning.
- Treat partially installed or unenergised battery units as live fire risks in construction phase risk assessments, including precautionary evacuation triggers and a route for handing the site back after an incident.
Published 2026-09-07. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.