Six months after an explosion and fire destroyed a grid-connected energy-storage battery facility in Surprise, Ariz., investigators are still trying to figure out all that happened. The incident sent eight firefighters and a police officer to the hospital, and three required extended stays.
What happened at the Arizona Public Service Co. site was a shocking reminder of the potential fire hazards of lithium-ion battery energy storage, which makes up virtually all such new systems in the U.S.
This was not the utility’s first fire experience. Following a 2012 blaze at another battery storage facility, Arizona Public Service applied lessons from that failure as it continued to add stationary storage for its renewable energy fleet.
存储是公用事业计划的主要部分。In February 2019 Arizona Public Service announced that it intended to add 850 MW of solar storage and standalone battery storage to its system’s existing 6 MW of battery storage by 2025. The storage program is part of a long-term clean energy transition in which renewable and storage technologies will play an increasingly important role, utility officials say.
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电池存储的火灾问题对于在我们需要的情况下必须产生的美国电力的未来也很重要。化石燃料发电厂存储煤炭或天然气以按需发电，但是太阳能和风电场需要存放电池。亚利桑那州自然保护协会主任帕特·格雷厄姆（Pat Graham）表示：“大规模的电池存储是通往可靠且负担得起的清洁能源解决方案的关键一步。”
这个月的诺贝尔化学奖to three scientists who developed the lithium-ion battery recognized its revolutionary energy storage significance, with the rechargeable battery now used for applications from pocket-sized consumer electronics to grid-connected renewable power.
What it will take to solve the fire problem isn’t clear yet. But in an Oct. 10, 2019, update in Greentech Media, part of energy research firm Wood Mackenzie, the writer concludes that the April explosion has prompted a re-evaluation of lithium-ion battery fire safety that will require a change in conventional battery safety engineering, based on interviews with Arizona Public Service and Fluence, the system integrator.
George Crabtree, director of Argonne National Laboratory’s Joint Center for Energy Storage Research, says the challenge arises when lithium-ion battery temperature goes above 150° C. “A reaction takes place between the cathode and the electrolyte that doesn’t require any oxygen from the air to proceed. It has everything it needs right there, and that reaction releases heat,” he says.
The released heat raises the temperature of the battery, speeding the reaction until it is in “thermal runaway,” says Crabtree.
Some commenters on the Greentech Media article related their efforts to find lithium-ion battery alternatives that are safe, durable, efficient and high in energy density. They debated the pros and cons of alternative battery chemistries and the ready market availability of their components—and their costs.
Other comments suggested that changing the design of cell clusters and modules, improving interior layout to limit effects of thermal runaway, installing better ventilation to reduce the concentration of explosive gases and other upgrades could reduce potential hazards.
In September, the National Fire Protection Association released NFPA 855, Standard for the Installation of Stationary Energy Storage Systems, the first comprehensive collection of criteria for the fire protection of energy storage systems.
除其他外，该标准还解决了安装技术的设置，储能安装的大小和分离以及所在的火灾抑制和控制系统。
Those safety measures will be important because the basic hazard in the battery chemistry and heat remains. Or as Crabtree says, “So far, no one’s been able to figure it out.”
