EnerVenue’s Metal-Hydrogen Batteries Achieve a Key Fire Safety Certification

FREMONT, Calif. – May 2, 2023 – EnerVenue, the first company to bring metal-hydrogen batteries capable of 30,000 cycles to the clean energy revolution, today announced the company has completed UL 9540A cell-, module-, and unit-level evaluation of thermal runaway fire propagation. Additionally, the company certified its Energy Storage Vessel™ to UL1973. Both achievements represent significant safety milestones for the rapidly growing company.

UL 9540A testing includes progressively larger-scale fire tests to evaluate the risk of thermal runaway and fire propagation in battery energy storage systems. EnerVenue’s Energy Storage Vessels completed UL 9540A testing at the cell level with no flames observed during induced thermal runaway.

“Our UL 9540A test results confirm our proven battery chemistry as the leading option for customers concerned with eliminating the possibility of fires or thermal hazards at their grid-scale installations,” said Majid Keshavarz, CTO, EnerVenue. “We’re proud to achieve this testing validation and to offer a safer battery energy storage system.”

In contrast, lithium-ion batteries generate flames during the UL 9540A test at the cell level: a punctured li-ion battery cell will catch fire. Li-ion battery manufacturers must therefore add additional protection around cells to contain thermal runaway at the module level to meet testing criteria.

The UL 9540A test method is officially titled: Test Method for Evaluating Thermal Runaway Fire Propagation in Battery Energy Storage Systems and is the recognized standard for evaluating a battery energy storage system’s thermal runaway fire propagation risk. This testing provides manufacturers with a means of demonstrating the regulatory compliance of their products. In most regions, battery technology providers’ products must complete UL 9540A testing for them to be eligible for installation.

UL 9540A testing fully confirms and validates EnerVenue’s standing as a provider of unique and inherently safer energy storage technology.

EnerVenue’s metal-hydrogen batteries require no additional packaging or modification to prevent explosion, or fire propagation. These safer batteries enable EnerVenue customers to reduce project risk, OPEX costs, risk to personnel, and environmental concerns. While other battery systems carry a risk that fire events could cause toxic materials to enter the air or leach into groundwater, EnerVenue’s systems have no such risks. EnerVenue’s superior safety also makes its systems appropriate not just in utility settings but also for commercial or even residential applications, due to their potential to be installed in occupied buildings without the known risks associated with other technologies such as lithium-ion.

The company also certified its Energy Storage Vessels to UL 1973, which was updated last year.

The safety standard applies to stationary batteries and certifies the ability of a battery system to safely operate under normal and abnormal conditions relative to electrical, mechanical and environmental safety.

“UL 1973 confirms and validates our safety claims and satisfies a requirement for the deployment of grid-scale and commercial energy storage systems,” said Andrzej Skoskiewicz, Vice President of Product Engineering at EnerVenue. “Designers, integrators, and system operators can have full confidence in the safety and performance of EnerVenue technology.”

About EnerVenue
EnerVenue builds simple, safe, and cost-efficient energy storage solutions for the clean energy revolution. Based on technology proven over decades under the most extreme conditions, EnerVenue batteries are refined and scaled for large renewable energy integration applications.