Basen Technology Addresses Recent PV Magazine Article Concerning Battery Safety

[Basen techonology]

Honourable parties,

Greetings!

On behalf of Basen Technology,I wish to address a recent article published by PV Magazine with the headline"The cause of the explosion of the 30KWH battery storage system will probably remain unclear" that mentioned Basen two pieces 48V-200B battery pack. We take the safety and quality of our products with utmost seriousness, in the first place,we are actively engaging with the customer involved in the incident and seek to clarify the following points to our partners in the photovoltaic industry through this notice:


Non-Battery Explosion:
Despite PV Magazine reporting a battery explosion,observation of the scene through photographs indicates that all three battery backs and the inverter were undamaged and in good condition,with no explosion occurring.
​

( Image 1 from PV magazine)

Not All Batteries from Basen:
The MY-381 product mentioned in the report does not belong to Basen.This has been confirmed through email with the customer


( Image 2 from PV magazine)


Official Announcement from the German Fire Department:
Neither the fire department nor the customer has explicitly stated that the collapse of the building was caused by a battery explosion


( Image 3 from vogelsberger-zeitung)



Analysis of the photographs from the scene shows that the battery structure appears to be intact,and it remains unclear whether there was a leakage of electrolyte.Technically speaking,leakage of electrolyte or gas on its own would not lead to the combustion of other substances.It is only in the event of an internal short circuit within the battery cell,where sparks could lead to thermal runaway and subsequently cause combustion or explosion.The change in air pressure and the force of heavy objects due to the collapse of the building might have forced the battery to breach their pressure relief valves,which could explain the“lithium smell”described by the customer.

We sincerely thank all the professionals for your attention and understanding regarding this incident and look forward to the official investigation.Our team is currently in communication with PV Magazine to clarify the facts too.

Thank you again for your attention and support.

Warm regards​

 

[rodrick]

Posting any new info on the incident as it comes out would be very helpful to stop speculation and false claims when the official investigation is available it needs to be made public here

 

[Steve_S]

The FACTS are always far less dramatic than the Speculation, Theorization & Conjecture... Sadly in 2023 Hyperbole gets far too much traction, even from people that KNOW BETTER...

 

[Solarcabin Channel]

I said when I read the article it did not sound like LFP run away or off gassing related.

I suspect if it was battery related at all it was probably an LI battery and maybe recharging a power station or other device.

 

[Spunky]

Good to hear, I have 10 boxes I'm waiting to fill will 280Ah cells.

 

[Daniel Markus]

Lithium battery products come in many different categories. Currently, conventional home energy storage potassium battery packs have a low probability of smoking and a small chance of open flames, but violent explosions are not supported by either theory or simulation.

 

[kayakingphotos]

Does anyone have links to either the fire department website or local news outlets showing photos and videos of the scene and building?

Are there previously verified documented cases of lithium batteries actually detonating as a failure method? From what I’ve seen previously, it has been RAPID vigorous BURNING mostly.

 

[Steve_S]

Does anyone have links to either the fire department website or local news outlets showing photos and videos of the scene and building?

Are there previously verified documented cases of lithium batteries actually detonating as a failure method? From what I’ve seen previously, it has been RAPID vigorous BURNING mostly.

The Different chemistries behave differently. NMC, NCA, LiPoly (cell phones lappies) can all be EXPLOSIVE. LFP is NOT, you can put a 12" spike through them and they do not "explode", they can smoke out & even catch fire but NOT like other chemistries... There is no room for Broad Brush comments. Apples, Pears, Oranges are FRUIT but not the same at all.

 

[kayakingphotos]

The Different chemistries behave differently. NMC, NCA, LiPoly (cell phones lappies) can all be EXPLOSIVE. LFP is NOT, you can put a 12" spike through them and they do not "explode", they can smoke out & even catch fire but NOT like other chemistries... There is no room for Broad Brush comments. Apples, Pears, Oranges are FRUIT but not the same at all.

Maybe I asked the question wrong….

Do you think any battery will create a pressure wave strong enough to cause structural collapse of a building? I’m thinking not. Even a Tesla Megapack failure doesn’t show external damage from a pressure wave. Fire damage, yes. Pressure wave, no.

I see NO INDICATION that there was a fire in that room to cause collapse.

 

[Steve_S]

I have not seen any reports on pressure waves, even the large grid scale battery Systems that have caught fire never "exploded" as such. The idea that they could actually crack up poured concrete is what I call a Serious Stretch. Now in Germany, Natural Gas is everywhere, and that "lighter" gas will fill a house & blow it up really well. LPG (Propane) is a heavy gas that will sink to low spots and sit, it will also blow up a house with great ease but the damage caused is different.

The battery packs in that basement leaked of course, they got terribly cooked in the heat and without a doubt popped - House fires are really hot thanks to all the flammable garbage within. Ask any firefighter, they'll tell the facts as they are.

It's amazing how many people think that "gasoline" is what burns, not realizing it's the vapours that actually burn.

 

[Phoebe PPP]

Everyone seems to jump to the conclusion that it must be a lithium battery issue, maybe because of the reputation that other potassium chemicals have got. Was it daytime when the batteries were being powered? Were the panels feeding each battery individually, or was there some kind of shared device pouring juice into every battery? Are the panels wired in series, and could a fault in the charge controller lead to overvoltage in the batteries? Was the boiler in operation? There are just so many questions.

The report says there were no signs of burning on the battery cases. It's well-known that charging voltages over 58.4 volts can permanently damage iron phosphate batteries, so someone should definitely check that out. I'm guessing if any set of batteries was exposed to a brief high voltage, such a large battery pack would fail pretty quickly.