Fire breaks out at 1.5 MW battery storage system in Germany

Firefighters are responding to a blaze at a 1.5 MW lithium battery energy storage system in Bautzen, Germany, where the facility is being continuously cooled to reduce the risk of further incidents.

The fire broke out July 21 at the battery storage facility in the central area of Bautzen. The system consists of a lithium battery installation housed in four shipping containers with a total capacity of 1.5 MW, according to a city spokesperson. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, and authorities have contacted the facility owner.

Firefighting efforts have been complicated by the characteristics of battery fires and limited operational experience with such incidents, according to the city. Rather than directly extinguishing the fire, firefighters have been cooling the battery containers with 5,000 liters of water per minute to reduce the risk of thermal escalation or explosion. The containers are also being monitored using drones.

Shortly after the fire began, Bautzen authorities advised residents in the old town area to keep windows closed and switch off air conditioning systems due to smoke odors. Fire crews have conducted air quality measurements and have not detected hazardous substances in the fumes so far.

Authorities evacuated 25 people from the immediate area on the afternoon of July 21, followed by another 17 residents overnight. No injuries have been reported.

The city and fire department expect cooling operations to continue through July 22, with evacuations remaining in place during the response. Authorities described the situation as stable and planned a further assessment meeting at 2 p.m. after providing hourly updates overnight.

From pv magazine Deutschland