Sungrow fire tests its 'PowerTitan' BESS to prove its safety and reliability

Chinese PV and battery solutions firm Sungrow recently livestreamed a fire test of its full-size battery energy storage system (BESS) 'PowerTitan' to prove the safety and reliability of its product even during thermal runaways.

The company set on fire four 20-foot containerized 'PowerTitan' system totaling 2.75 MW/ 10 MWh capacity at a third-party lab facility in Puyang in the Henan province of China. Interestingly, the fire test event was livestreamed as well, making the company the first to do something like this to prove the product's safety.

Media reports suggest that the test simulated a real energy storage plant fire scenario, similar to the tests performed in the UL 9540A certification. Sungrow has already secured UL 9540 compliance for its products. 

During the fire test, the explosion relief panels at the top of the BESS containers deployed automatically to vent the fire upward, thereby preventing the nearby battery cabins and energy storage units from catching fire. 

Sungrow has claimed that the top exhaust and venting design and fire-resistance bulkheads as the distinctive safety features of the 'PowerTitan' energy storage system have achieved their objectives, thereby enhancing safety and reliability of the battery systems. 

"This elevates our commitment to industry safety and transparency in commerce to a level few have achieved. By ensuring the highest safety standards, Sungrow's technology abates safety concerns and helps encourage the adoption of utility-scale storage systems throughout the energy industry", commented Hank Wang, President of Sungrow Americas, as quoted by Solar Power World. 

It is to be noted that the Sungrow PowerTitan ESS platform features liquid cooling and advanced cell temperature management that limits battery cell variations to 2.5° C, along with other fire suppression techniques such as rapid arc shutdown, inter-rack fusing protection, and self-sealing coolant loop connectors