Battery storage fire follows charging rate increase in Yesan, South Korea
2019Published 11 Sept 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor
- Where
- Yesan, South Korea
- What
- Fire at 1.5 MWh outdoor BESS for solar integration
- Manufacturer
- LG Chem
- Cause
- Charging rate raised from 70 to 95 percent two days before
- Outcome
- Damage to about 1 percent of capacity
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Companies named in the reporting of this entry (being named is not a finding of fault): LG Chem
What happened
A fire occurred at a 1.5 MWh battery energy storage system used for solar integration in Yesan, South Korea. According to the EPRI BESS Failure Incident Database, the system's charging rate had been increased from 70 percent to 95 percent, and the fire broke out two days later. The system was installed outdoors and used NMC (nickel manganese cobalt) lithium-ion cells manufactured by LG Chem. The battery system was approximately 1.7 years old at the time of the incident. Reported physical damage was limited to about 1.0 percent of the installed capacity. No information on injuries, evacuation, or emergency response was available in the source record.
Contributing factors
The recorded database entry links the fire to an increase in the battery charging rate from 70 percent to 95 percent two days before the event. The battery chemistry was NMC, a lithium-ion chemistry associated with higher thermal runaway risk than some alternatives such as LFP.
Lessons learned
- An increase in charging rate on an NMC BESS should be preceded by a risk assessment of thermal margins.
- NMC cells in outdoor BESS need closer monitoring after any change to state of charge limits.
More lessons on detection and monitoring, from every incident on the register.
Not yet known
- Injuries or evacuations
- Emergency response details
- Downtime and repair cost
- Exact root cause of the fire
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.
