Whether they’re being used to charge machinery such as electric carts and forklifts, or they’re storing excess energy generated by sustainable fuel, batteries can pose a severe gas safety risk when not properly monitored and cared for.

Power Storage

As governments and businesses around the world have attempted to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels and utilise more sustainable alternatives, the use of solar and wind power has grown dramatically.

However, an obvious inconvenience to this is that both the sun and the wind can be incredibly inconsistent (especially in the UK!) - sometimes it’s too sunny/windy, sometimes not enough. In these instances, batteries are used to store the power generated and release it to the grid as and when needed.

Battery Rooms

Alongside storage facilities for the energy generated by the above, you also have battery rooms.

Battery rooms are conventionally used to store and charge the batteries of electric carts, forklifts and other similar heavy machinery.

While these are usually sizeable, well-ventilated spaces, there is still a great risk from the hydrogen generated throughout the charging process. The greater the amount of hydrogen in a space, the bigger the risk of fires and explosions.

The Consequence of Improper Battery and Power Storage

Batteries often contain substances such as:

• Lithium
• Sodium
• Potassium
• Magnesium
• Calcium

There are a number of factors that can lead to the generation of gas from batteries. If a battery is overcharged, damaged, overheated, left drained for an extended period or even contaminated with water, the chemical elements within the battery can vaporise and generate gas.

This develops into a situation where the internal temperature of a battery reaches a critical point and begins to produce flammable gases such as hydrogen.

Hydrogen, like many other gases related to power and battery storage, is highly flammable and poses great safety risks.

To make the situation even more dangerous, it’s odourless, colourless and lighter than air. Hydrogen fires don’t require oxygen to keep burning and have been known to hit temperatures of 660°C, which is hot enough to melt aluminium.

That’s why gas detectors should always be used to remain conscious of current levels and act before something goes wrong.

Merseyside Mega-Battery Site Explosion

One such incident happened in 2020, right here in Merseyside.

Despite having passed a safety check just a month prior, the 20MW Carnegie Road BESS facility, owned by Danish renewables giant Ørsted caught fire.

The initial explosion at the facility, which was near a residential area in the suburbs of Liverpool, is said to have blasted debris up to 75 feet away, while the blaze itself took 59 hours to extinguish and threatened to cover the area in a plume of toxic gas.

Over the past five years, similar events have occurred in Beijing (in 2019) which claimed the life of two firefighters, and Korea, where 23 such fires occurred in 2019.

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If you work in or monitor a power storage facility or work with electric carts, trolleys, forklifts and similar machinery, it’s imperative that you utilise quality gas detection equipment to keep you and your team safe.

If you need any advice on updating your monitors and safety equipment, get in touch with our expert team at Point Safety. Their customer service and knowledge of gas safety are unmatched.