Energy Storage Safety Collaborative

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity (DOE OE) is at the forefront of efforts to address energy storage risk assessment and mitigation, including numerous publications, educational materials, and meetings organized under the ESS Safety Working Group (now Energy Storage Safety Collaborative). The Safety Collaborative has three main focuses – research and development (R&D), codes and standards, and education and outreach.

DOE OE, along with its partner national labs – Sandia National Laboratories and Pacific Northwest National Lab – are shepherding these activities, facilitating efforts to identify and mitigate risks in ESS and establishing the foundation needed for increased communication and collaboration amongst all ESS stakeholders. With the growth and expansion of ESS technology, future efforts will need to remain aggressive. To keep pace in addressing research gaps, the Safety Collaborative:

• Informs updates and enhancements to codes and standards
• Facilitates the use of the provisions of adopted codes and standards
• Helps educate the public and relevant stakeholders in the application of ESSs and how to best respond to any safety-related ESS incidents

Even with all of these activities, there will always be the probability of a safety-related incident. However, through this initiative, the risks associated with these incidents can be identified, evaluated for likelihood, assessed for impact, and mitigating actions can be taken in a measured and considered way.

Read the current DOE OE Energy Storage Systems Safety Roadmap

Read more in the DOE OE Energy Storage Systems Safety Roadmap.

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