Battery storage fire destroys solar-linked ESS room in Yeongdong, South Korea

On 1 September 2018, a fire broke out at a battery energy storage system (BESS) connected to a solar power installation in Yeongdong, North Chungcheong Province, South Korea. The system used lithium-ion batteries manufactured by LG Chem. The ESS room was burnt down and related equipment was destroyed. This was one of three ESS fires that occurred in South Korea that month, part of a wider series of at least ten ESS fire incidents in the country since the first case in Gochang in August 2017. Investigations by relevant agencies and industry experts were ongoing at the time of reporting, with the exact cause of the Yeongdong fire not confirmed. The incident contributed to national concern about a lack of specific safety regulation for large-scale battery storage systems in South Korea, prompting government review of ESS installations of 10 MWh capacity or greater.

Sources indicate that potential causes under industry-wide investigation for this wave of ESS fires included heat wave conditions, battery cell defects, faults in specific components or assembly processes, and external impacts. Lithium-ion batteries using volatile electrolytes were noted as a general risk factor when internal temperatures exceed around 70 degrees Celsius. Some experts also pointed to potential ignition risks arising during integration of battery management systems, power conversion systems and power control systems, rather than the battery cells themselves. No specific root cause for the Yeongdong incident was confirmed in the source.

1. Operators of lithium-ion battery energy storage systems, particularly those paired with solar generation, should ensure fire-retardant barriers exist between battery modules and racks to prevent fire spread.
2. National safety standards and mandatory reporting requirements for large-capacity BESS installations should be established proactively, rather than reactively, especially in markets with rapid deployment growth.
3. Systematic forensic investigation capability should be developed to determine root causes of ESS fires, since without this, repeated incidents may occur without corrective lessons being applied across the industry.

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