The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) is the world’s leading authority on tracking and analyzing incidents in BESSs and with their BESS Incident Database has established “the most comprehensive compilation of stationary BESS incidents”.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common root cause of BESS failures?
Integration, assembly, and construction account for 36% of classified BESS failures, according to EPRI’s analysis of 26 incidents from 2018 to 2023. Manufacturing defects — widely assumed to be the primary cause — ranked last at 14%.
Are lithium-ion battery cell failures the leading cause of BESS fire incidents?
No. EPRI’s data shows that 89% of BESS incidents do not originate from battery cell failure. Controls and balance-of-system components were responsible for 46% and 43% of incidents respectively, making them the dominant failure points.
When in a BESS system's life cycle do most failures occur?
EPRI’s study found that 72% of BESS failures occur within the first two years of operation, including during or immediately following commissioning. This points to installation quality and commissioning discipline as the highest-leverage areas for risk reduction.
What role does sensor monitoring play in preventing BESS failures?
EPRI’s recommendations highlight advanced sensing, monitoring, and data analytics as critical to early detection of design or operational issues and to strengthening battery management system performance. Environmental conditions including heat, humidity, dust, vibration, and water ingress are all detectable precursors to failure that sensors can identify before they escalate.
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