BLUE SPRINGS, Missouri | May 2024: Fike Corporation, a global manufacturer and supplier of industrial hazard protection, has announced a partnership with Heriot-Watt University to both protect its rooftop energy storage system from lithium battery fires and to add program curriculum around this lithium ion battery fire suppression and thermal management system, Fike Blue. Dubai’s largest international university, Heriot-Watt University…

By Josh Batz, Fike Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing In the early hours of May 15, 2024, a devastating fire tore through a lithium-ion battery energy storage facility in Otay Mesa, just outside San Diego. The blaze has left the community reeling and searching for answers. As details emerge, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: this tragedy could…

Fike Corporation Partners with Heriot-Watt University Dubai to Enhance Battery Safety Education Fike Corporation, a global leader in industrial safety solutions, has announced a strategic partnership with Heriot-Watt University Dubai to develop and implement an advanced curriculum focused on energy storage safety. This collaboration aims to address the growing concerns related to thermal runaway in lithium-ion batteries, a critical issue…

Why is it dangerous to let lithium-ion batteries burn out in storage systems (ESS)? What happens when an energy storage system filled with these batteries catches fire? In this FAQ video, we cover:

Battery fires within energy storage systems (ESS’s) aren’t as rare as one might think. The reason they are often underpublicized and, fortunately, there haven’t been more tragedies is because ESS’s are often installed away from residential or commercial areas.  However, with the increased efforts in renewable energy production and therefore the exponential deployment of ESS’s, these units will no longer be…

Fike Blue advances the safe deployment of lithium-ion battery storage systems, particularly in urban and suburban settings where fire risks can have severe consequences. These systems are crucial for storing renewable energy and supporting electric grid stability, but their potential for cascading thermal runaway poses significant safety challenges. Unlike traditional fire suppression methods that may struggle to contain or extinguish…

In the realm of fire safety, the management of battery fires, especially those involving lithium-ion batteries, presents a significant challenge due to the risk of thermal runaway. This phenomenon, where a fire escalates rapidly and uncontrollably, has posed a serious threat in various industries, from automotive to energy storage facilities. Fike Blue™ has been a groundbreaking solution in this domain,…

Battery fires within energy storage systems (ESS’s) aren’t as rare as one might think.  The reason they are often underpublicized and, fortunately, there haven’t been more tragedies (such as the four critically injured firefighters in Surprise, AZ in 2019), is because ESS’s are often installed away from residential or commercial areas.  However, with the ongoing adoption of renewable energy production,…

The threat of thermal runaway in an energy storage system (ESS) is often thought of as a fire hazard, but just as important is its explosion risk.  Along with the intense heat generated from each affected battery cell during thermal runaway is a dangerous mixture of offgas. According to NFPA 855 (A.9.6.5.6), thermal runaway results in the offgassing of “mixtures…

Q&A with Tom Farrell on Conquering Thermal Runaway Propagation We recently interviewed Tom Farrell, Principal Engineer of Test and Validation Engineering at Fike Corporation about the dangers of thermal runaway, the solutions currently used to mitigate its effects, the effectiveness of Fike’s solution Fike Blue, and more about the advancement of safety in the energy storage industry.  Q. Why aren’t…