Fire destroys 28 battery packs at KEPCO ESS site in Daejeon
EIR-1153A fire broke out at around 6:25am on 21 September 2026 in an outdoor container housing an energy storage system (ESS) at the KEPCO Power ICT Daejeon Center in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, South Korea. The ESS is located on the premises of KEPCO's Electric Power Research Institute but is managed by the Daejeon Center. Fire authorities deployed 24 pieces of equipment and 69 personnel, fully extinguishing the blaze approximately three hours and 58 minutes later, at around 10:23am. The fire completely burned 28 lithium-ion battery packs housed in two racks. There were no casualties. To prevent reignition, fire crews separated each battery pack and submerged them in water-filled immersion tanks. Police and fire authorities are investigating the exact cause and the scale of the damage.
Not reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation by police and fire authorities.
- Outdoor containerised ESS installations require rapid detection and suppression capability given the risk of rapid thermal propagation across racks.
- Post-fire immersion or separation of lithium-ion battery packs is an effective measure to prevent reignition and should be part of standard emergency response protocols.
- Clear delineation of operational responsibility between site owners and managing entities supports faster incident response and accountability.
Published 2026-09-21. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.