Charging piles provide us with convenient energy replenishment. However, as electrical devices, they involve factors such as voltage and current during use, which, if not handled carefully, could result in equipment damage or safety hazards.
In general, energy that is stored has the potential for release in an uncontrolled manner, potentially endangering equipment, the environment, or people. All energy storage systems have hazards. Some hazards are easily mitigated to reduce risk, and others require more dedicated planning and execution to maintain safety.
Interest in storage safety considerations is substantially increasing, yet newer system designs can be quite different than prior versions in terms of risk mitigation. An uncontrolled release of energy is an inevitable and dangerous possibility with storing energy in any form.
Resulting primary hazards may include fire, chemical, crush, electrical, and thermal. Secondary hazards may include health and environmental. EPRI's energy storage safety research is focused in three areas, or future states, defined in the Energy Storage Roadmap: Vision for 2025 .
What can we learn from the Carnegie road energy storage system failure?
This report conveys the lessons learned from the Carnegie Road energy storage system (ESS) failure event in the UK, including aspects of emergency response, root cause investigation, and the redesign and rebuild processes.