Fire breaks out at Gunwi battery storage system in South Korea
Sept 2019Published 11 Sept 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor
- Where
- Gunwi battery storage system, South Korea
- Manufacturer
- LG Chem
- What
- Fire in 1.5 MWh BESS during discharge
- Injuries
- None reported
- Cause
- Not reported
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Companies named in the reporting of this entry (being named is not a finding of fault): LG Chem
What happened
On 29 September 2019, a fire occurred at a battery energy storage system in Gunwi, South Korea. The system, rated at 1.5 MWh and used for solar integration, was discharging at the time of the incident. The system used NMC cells manufactured by LG Chem and was approximately 1.8 years old at the time of the failure. According to the EPRI BESS Failure Incident Database, the fire resulted in damage to approximately 1.0% of the installed capacity. No further details on injuries, evacuation or emergency response were reported in the available source.
Contributing factors
The source does not state a confirmed root cause. The system used nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) lithium-ion cells supplied by LG Chem and was in solar integration service at the time of the fire.
Lessons learned
- NMC cells from LG Chem in solar integration service require checks on thermal monitoring during discharge.
- Damage limited to 1% capacity shows value of early isolation for BESS fires.
More lessons on detection and monitoring, electrical protection and isolation, from every incident on the register.
Not yet known
- Confirmed root cause
- Emergency response details
- Cost of damage
This entry is updated when these are reported. Get an alert for the next one like it.
Standards referenced
EPRI
Source
Published 2026-09-11. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.
