Battery storage fire follows charging rate increase in Yesan, South Korea
EIR-0663Provisional entry. This entry is based on a single database record (EPRI BESS Failure Incident Database); the original news/technical article could not be accessed, and details such as injuries, emergency response, and site operator remain unconfirmed. No further update is scheduled; the entry stays provisional until new information is published.
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.
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.
- Increasing charging setpoints on ageing battery systems should be preceded by a documented risk assessment covering thermal and electrical margins.
- NMC-based systems may warrant closer monitoring of state-of-charge changes given known thermal runaway sensitivity.
- Operators changing operational parameters on outdoor BESS installations should implement a monitoring period after the change to detect early signs of thermal stress.
EPRI
Published 2026-09-11. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.