Short circuit in lithium battery cells reported as cause of fire at Rufford Colliery BESS
EIR-0584Provisional entry. What is confirmed is a trade report attributing a fire at a UK battery storage site to a short circuit in NMC cells; the site, date, scale of the fire and response are not reported, and this may prove to be the cause finding for a UK battery container fire already on the register. Next update: 10 September 2026.
A trade report states that a fire at Rufford Colliery BESS, a battery energy storage site in Rainworth, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom, operated by Gresham House and owned by Gresham House Energy Storage Fund, was caused by a short circuit within nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) lithium-ion battery cells. Only a headline level report is available. The date, scale of the fire, emergency response, any injuries and any loss of availability were not reported, and the finding has not been corroborated by a second source or by an official investigation report.
Reported as a short circuit within NMC battery cells. The underlying trigger for the short circuit was not stated. Not otherwise reported.
- Internal cell short circuits remain a recognised failure mode for nickel manganese cobalt chemistry and call for reliable detection and rapid electrical isolation.
- Battery management and monitoring arrangements should be tested for their ability to flag abnormal cell voltage or temperature behaviour before thermal runaway develops.
- Publishing confirmed cause findings after storage fires helps other operators check whether the same failure mode applies to their own fleets.
Published 2026-09-09. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.