Successful Partnership Between Xtralis and GSC Implements Li-Ion Tamer Equipment and Improves Safety While Meeting Insurance Needs

Summary

A partnership between Xtralis and Gore Street Capital (GSC) reduced risk and resulted in a customer success story for the renewable energy investment manager. Li-ion Tamer was selected as the equipment of choice by Xtralis and GSC for Cremzow BESS, in northern Germany. After substantial research on the BESS facility, Xtralis specified a Li-ion Tamer battery electrolyte vapor detection system for the 11 containers of Li-ion cells. Each container was fitted with four reference sensors, 16 monitoring sensors, and two Li-ion Tamer Controllers.

Full Post

Li-ion Tamer sensors detect electrolyte vapors emitted from battery cells. These off-gases contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with a rising concentration indicating a battery fault. By detecting these vapors, Li-ion Tamer can identify a cell failure before thermal runaway occurs, giving time for the cell to be shut down to prevent a fire. The Cremzow solution connects to an E-Stop loop to automatically shut down the isolated cell. The early warning system enables BESS operators to take individual battery cells offline before they enter thermal runaway. This means that the cell can be replaced without taking the entire BESS offline.

THE GOAL: To improve battery health and safety at Cremzow BESS, northern Germany, a higher-risk asset in the GSC portfolio

THE CHALLENGE: To meet new safety requirements from regulators and satisfy more stringent conditions from insurers

THE OUTCOME:

• Earlier detection: Li-ion Tamer provided a warning 25 minutes before thermal runaway. In contrast, other technologies like aspirated smoke detectors (ASD) and aspirated gas detectors (AGD) only detected the failing battery after a thermal runaway had already begun.
• Substantial risk reduction: L-ion Tamer enables BESS operators to shut down battery cells in the early stages of failure. Therefore, smoke detectors and automatic fire suppression would never have to activate since the failure never progresses to a fire.
• Favorable insurance: The Li-ion Tamer installation allowed GSC to secure favorable insurance coverage and ensure compliance with future regulations.

 

“The Li-ion Tamer off-gas monitor provides an early warning of Li-ion battery thermal runaway that substantially lowers fire risk whilst satisfying the requirements of our insurer. The retrofit process was straightforward, and we easily integrated the warning system with shutdown procedures – an important advantage of the product.”
Daniel Sherlock-Burke
Head of Asset Performance, Gore Street Capital

 

Li-ion Tamer is an industry leading provider of off-gas detection systems. Please contact us if you would like to learn more.

You can view the Xtralis Customer Success Story at https://xtralis.com/file/11972.