During the testing, the pressure build-up in target Unit A was released through the top pressure vent. (Photo Credit: SolaX Power) 
Storage+

SolaX Power’s 5 MW BESS Undergoes Extreme Fire Testing

The company’s ORI series containerized BESS was subjected to a large-scale fire test by UL Solutions at a testing facility

Rajarshi Sengupta

  • SolaX’s ORI 5 MWh series BESS, with its 314 Ah LFP cells, can store up to 5.015 MWh of energy 

  • According to the company, the target BESS unit didn’t experience thermal runaway propagation to adjacent units throughout the test 

  • The maximum temperature of the initiating container was 1,371.6°C, while the maximum cell temperatures of the target containers B, C, and D were less than 70°C 

SolaX Power, a provider of PV inverters and energy storage solutions, has completed extreme fire testing on its containerized SolaX ORI 5MWh series battery energy storage system (BESS). 

The company says this testing validates the performance of passive safety mechanisms in large-scale fire incidents, keeping other active features inactive and without manual intervention. This BESS, equipped with 314 Ah lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells, boasts a nominal capacity of 5.015 MWh. 

During testing, the testing agency, UL Solutions, deployed 4 BESS units to replicate a real-time high-density installation at a testing facility. According to SolaX, the test was witnessed by Atar Fire. Keeping the target, Unit A, at the center, it placed Unit D in a back-to-back configuration. Unit B was placed face-to-face with Unit A, and Unit B was side-by-side with Unit A. All units were charged to a 100% State of Charge (SoC) level with fire suppression functions kept inactive, to mimic a worst-case scenario. This test covered fire development following the initiating event, including fire growth, development, and extinguishing. 

The key observations during the test are the absence of thermal runaway propagation to adjacent containers and fire spread to battery packs. The recorded maximum temperature of the initiating container was 1,371.6°C. Units B and D recorded 69.6°C, and Unit C recorded a maximum temperature of 36.9°C throughout the test. 

Andrey Yang, Head of Global Large-Scale Energy Storage Sales of SolaX, said, "For customers, the real question is how the system behaves when exposed to extreme conditions. This test gives project stakeholders a clearer view of ORI's fire isolation capability, structural resilience and system-level safety performance."