EASE Guidelines on Safety Best Practices for Battery Energy Storage Systems

The EASE Guidelines on Safety Best Practices for Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are designed to support the safe deployment of outdoor, utility-scale lithium-ion (Li-ion) BESS across Europe. These guidelines aim to assist developers, manufacturers, service providers, and all stakeholders in the value chain—including relevant authorities, first responders, and permitting bodies—in implementing safety practices that align with regulatory requirements and technical standards.

As the European Union strives for climate neutrality by 2050, the need for safe and reliable energy storage has grown significantly. In 2024, Europe presented 35 GW of cumulative installed capacity of electrochemical storage, reflecting the rapid expansion of BESS and their crucial role in the global energy transition. Ensuring these systems meet the highest safety standards in design, development, installation, and maintenance is essential to support this growth.

The Batteries Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/1542) requires that stationary BESS be safe during normal operation and use. In response to these requirements, this document outlines safety guidelines specifically for outdoor, utility-scale lithium-ion BESS. It does not address other types of batteries (i.e. as redox flow batteries) which have distinct risk profiles. The focus is on systems with a maximum DC voltage of 1500 V or a maximum AC voltage of 1000 V and an energy storage capacity exceeding 20 kWh.

While not exhaustive, this guide highlights recognised industry best practices for demonstrating safety compliance, focusing on Product Safety (Chapter 2), Site Safety (Chapter 3), and Personnel Safety (Chapter 4).

This document was prepared by the members of the EASE Safety for Energy Storage Systems Task Force. Given the rapid evolution of the BESS industry and its associated regulations, codes and standards, this document is intended to serve as a living resource, subject to updates as new developments emerge.

The document was reviewed by Electric Power Research Institute.

Call for Endorsements!

Your endorsement does not only aim to promote safety of battery energy storage systems; it is about promoting a guideline that shall be recognised by policy makers and industry stakeholders as the go-to document for demonstrating safety compliance.

Several actors active across the renewables and energy storage value chain have already endorsed these guidelines on safety practices for BESS.

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