Battery storage fire burns for three days at Poggio-di-Nazza site, Corsica
June 2022Published 7 Sept 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor
- Where
- Poggio-di-Nazza solar and storage site, Corsica, France
- Operator
- SUN'R and SPES de Corse
- What
- Fire broke out in one battery storage container
- Injuries
- None reported
- Outcome
- Full site shut down for about two months
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Companies named in the reporting of this entry (being named is not a finding of fault): LG Chem, Nidec ASI, SPES de Corse
What happened
At the Poggio-di-Nazza solar and storage site in Poggio-di-Nazza, Corsica, France, operated by SUN'R and SPES de Corse (also the site owner), and fitted with two lithium-ion battery storage containers using LG Chem battery modules integrated by Nidec ASI, a fire broke out in one container during the evening while the batteries were at around 87 percent state of charge. No staff were on site. A remote monitoring alarm triggered a call to emergency services, who arrived roughly 75 minutes later.
The fire began in a single battery module that entered thermal runaway, likely due to an internal cell defect, possibly aggravated by moisture ingress. It spread through the rack to the rest of the container, including a power conversion unit and on-site data servers. The automatic fire suppression system did not stop the thermal runaway. Firefighters focused on preventing spread to an adjacent transformer compartment and to nearby vegetation, using water cooling.
The fire burned for more than three days before being fully extinguished. No injuries were reported, though smoke with an acrid odour was noticed by nearby residents over 400 metres away. The full site was shut down for about two months.
Contributing factors
The investigation identified an absence of an extinguishing system effective against a thermal runaway event once initiated, loss of internal compartmentalisation within the container, contact between a technician and the site during the response, and challenges in the emergency service intervention. A possible role of moisture from the container's climate control system was also considered as a contributing factor in the initial cell failure, though this could not be confirmed with certainty.
Lessons learned
- Automatic fire suppression systems may fail to stop thermal runaway in lithium-ion containers once it starts, so operators should plan for remote isolation and long-duration response.
- Critical data servers inside battery containers risk total data loss in a fire, so they should be placed in a separate enclosure.
- Battery fires can last several days, so emergency plans must include sustained cooling and exclusion zones rather than short interventions.
More lessons on fire suppression and firefighting, emergency response and public communication, from every incident on the register.
Not yet known
- Exact cost of damage and repairs
- Battery module age and service history
- Confirmed root cause after full investigation
This entry is updated when these are reported. Get an alert for the next one like it.
Published 2026-09-07. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.
