Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS)
Fire Protection for Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS)
Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are battery-based energy assets that store electricity and discharge it when needed to improve reliability, manage demand, and optimize energy use. While often associated with utility-scale renewable integration, BESS is also widely deployed in industrial facilities, commercial buildings, data centers, and other mission-critical environments. Depending on the application, BESS can support peak shaving, backup power, resiliency, renewable firming, load shifting, and fast-response grid or facility stabilization.
Industry leading aerogel materials for BESS fire protection
Aspen’s aerogel products are backed by our patent-protected Aerogel Technology Platform® and combine proven thermal performance with experience in some of the world’s most demanding industrial and battery applications. For BESS customers, that means materials designed to help control heat, improve fire resilience, and protect critical equipment when thermal events occur.
Pyrogel® provides high-performance thermal insulation in harsh operating environments and can bring valuable thermal management and passive fire protection benefits to BESS infrastructure and adjacent equipment. In addition, Pyrogel offers unmatched fire protection performance per millimeter allowing BESS designers and engineers to reclaim up to 45ft3 of valuable enclosure space.
PyroThin® has been adopted by leading automotive OEMs to help reduce heat transfer during thermal runaway events. That same thermal barrier expertise is highly relevant to BESS, where slowing heat propagation can help protect neighboring components and reduce system-level risk.
Together, these proven materials give BESS developers and operators access to aerogel-based solutions backed by real-world performance in both industrial thermal insulation and advanced battery protection.
Download the infographic and learn how we can achieve BESS protection at the pack and enclosure level.
- Proven Protection25 years of experience protecting energy industrial facilities and electric vehicles.
- Rapid Engineering & PrototypingRapidly develop new solutions by partnering with our in-house engineering and prototyping teams.
- System-wide ProtectionAchieve fire protection goals and protect BESS infrastructure from cabinet to battery packs.
Why do battery energy storage systems need fire protection?
As these BES systems become more and more important to the global energy infrastructure, effective fire protection is essential to ensuring their safety and reliability. Batteries of many chemistries can experience thermal runaway, a chain reaction that generates extreme heat and can spread rapidly between cells, potentially resulting in fires that are difficult to extinguish.
Beyond equipment damage, BESS fires can release hazardous gases, threaten surrounding communities, and result in costly cleanup and operational disruptions. Incorporating effective fire protection and thermal barriers into BESS designs can help limit the spread of thermal runaway, protect critical infrastructure, and reduce risks to people and the environment.
AI dramatization of a BESS fire.