Battery energy storage systems (BESS) – Modelling hazards for safer deployment

Battery energy storage system (BESS) technology has emerged as a key player in the global energy transition. In the years to come, BESS systems will become increasingly abundant, playing an essential role in meeting future energy demands. However, like all new technologies, BESS comes with inherent risks.
For lithium-ion-based systems, fault conditions can lead to off-gassing and thermal runaway, with the potential for fire, explosion and the release of toxic gases into the atmosphere. It is therefore important to understand these hazards to ensure a safe design.

DNV's consequence modelling software offers solutions to model BESS hazards, ranging from fast assessment of toxic hazard distances to the complex modelling of fires and explosions within a module.

Topics covered in the webinar:

• An overview of BESS technology and recent safety incidents
• Modelling the effects of battery thermal runaway events in Phast and KFX
• A new model for predicting the dispersion of unignited off-gas released from battery runaway events
• A demonstration of the new model in Phast Online

Presenters:

• Frank Hart, Senior Principal Mathematical Modeller
• Bjørn Erling Vembe, Senior Principal Specialist
• Joe Holt, Senior Consultant
• Matthew Hart, Principal Consultant