Technology group, Wärtsilä has completed large-scale fire safety testing of its GridSolv Quantum energy storage system (ESS). This testing program have set a new standard for fire safety testing in the energy storage industry.
The large-scale fire testing exceeds the mandatory testing requirements of existing testing standards (such as UL 9540A) and was designed to simulate a worst-case scenario.
The testing involved intentionally igniting a fire within a Wärtsilä’s GridSolv Quantum to reveal important information about how the system would react in a highly unlikely event of a catastrophic failure and demonstrate that, even in the worst-case scenario, a fire in a GridSolv Quantum unit would not spread to neighbouring enclosures.
Darrell Furlong, director of energy storage product management and hardware engineering at Wärtsilä says: ‘This new testing benchmark demonstrates Wärtsilä’s commitment to keeping our partners, customers, local safety officials, and local community members safe. It is crucial that the industry treats fire safety as its priority. Volunteering to complete testing beyond the minimum requirements provides confidence to key stakeholders that risks are being actively managed. We are proud to set a new fire safety standard and we remain committed to safety as our top priority.’
The testing was overseen by Wartsila stakeholders and safety partners including, Fire & Risk Alliance, Energy Safety Response Group, and Energy Security Agency.
