Fluence Surpasses Highest UL Requirements for Energy Storage Product Safety

Rhea-AI Summary

Fluence Energy (NASDAQ: FLNC) has completed a successful large-scale fire test for its sixth-generation energy storage technology, demonstrating superior safety performance. Conducted with DNV, the test exceeded UL9540A safety standards, showing that potential thermal runaway events can be contained within a single unit, preventing escalation to neighboring units. The positive results indicate that Fluence’s modular design minimizes downtime and damage, ensuring operational efficiency even in adverse situations.

Positive

• Successfully passed large-scale fire test beyond UL9540A safety standards.
• Demonstrated containment of thermal runaway to a single Cube, enhancing safety.
• Modular design allows for rapid restoration of energy storage systems post-event.

Negative

• None.

Large-scale fire test conducted by Fluence and independent firm DNV demonstrates industry-leading safety performance of Fluence’s modular energy storage technology

ARLINGTON, Va., Sept. 15, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fluence Energy, Inc. (“Fluence”) (NASDAQ: FLNC), a leading global provider of energy storage products and services, and cloud-based software for renewables and storage, today announced the company has successfully completed a large-scale fire test for its sixth-generation energy storage products that surpassed the industry’s UL9540A safety testing requirements, designed to limit the spread of a fire in energy storage deployments. Results of the large-scale fire test were issued in a report by independent engineering firm DNV, who witnessed the test as well as a separate unit-level UL9540A test.

In partnership with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the energy storage industry developed product regulations and testing recommendations to ensure that energy storage products are designed to limit potential fire to defined subsystems and not propagate thermal runaway. Fluence’s large-scale fire test extended beyond the performance standards of UL9540A by initiating an extreme fire event in a Fluence Cube and testing whether the thermal runaway event propagated to neighboring Cubes, which were configured to simulate a typical energy storage system.

“The results of Fluence’s large-scale fire test show that, in the unlikely event a Cube goes into thermal runaway, the product is designed to contain extreme internal battery failures to a single Cube and not spread through an energy storage system,” said DNV Business Development Leader Martin Plass. “The test was particularly impressive in that, despite a full-scale fire in the originating Cube, neighboring Cubes didn’t reach internal temperatures that could have triggered thermal runaway, even without intervention from external emergency personnel.”

This demonstrates that, in a real-world application, a fire event could be contained to a single Cube, enabling the energy storage system to be rapidly restored to operation while the damaged Cube was replaced.

“Fluence has a long history of incorporating industry-leading safety features into every level of our energy storage products, including system monitoring, fault detection, incipient gas detection, and deflagration panels. Not only do these features help prevent and mitigate safety incidents, but this successful test shows that the highly modular architecture of our products limits the overall impact of potential fires,” said Fluence SVP & Chief Product Officer Rebecca Boll. “This minimizes costly damage or downtime for our customers should an event occur, with rapid resolution compared to less modular or unproven solutions.”

“Few companies understand how energy storage systems will perform under a large-scale failure and how to help protect first responders during such an event. Fluence has taken a significant step forward by performing this full large-scale installation-level fire and explosion test,” said American Fire Technologies General Manager Paul Hayes, who witnessed the large-scale fire test. “The test did not result in a deflagration event and, even with a fully engaged Cube, the failure was limited to one Cube with no propagation between containers at distances below code requirements. This test will help define safety standards moving forward.”

About Fluence

Fluence Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq: FLNC) is a global market leader in energy storage products and services, and cloud-based software for renewables and storage. With a presence in over 40 markets globally, Fluence provides an ecosystem of offerings to drive the clean energy transition, including modular, scalable energy storage products, comprehensive service offerings, and the Fluence IQ Platform, which delivers AI-enabled SaaS products for managing and optimizing renewables and storage from any provider. The company is transforming the way we power our world by helping customers create more resilient and sustainable electric grids.

For more information, visit our website, or follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter. To stay up to date on the latest industry insights, sign up for Fluence's Full Potential Blog.

Forward-Looking Statements

The statements described herein that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding anticipated impact to our customers in similar events and impact on safety standards moving forward. Such statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. When used in this presentation, words such as such as “may,” “possible,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “could,” “intends,” “targets,” “projects,” “contemplates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. and variations thereof and similar words and expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking.

The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments, as well as a number of assumptions concerning future events, and their potential effects on our business. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance, and there can be no assurance that future developments affecting our business will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, which include, but are not limited to, unexpected actions by individuals in the event of such failure event, aggravation of certain factors in a failure event that cause unanticipated consequences, and factors set forth under Part I, Item 1A.“Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on December 14, 2021 and in other filings we make with the SEC from time to time. New risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time and it is not possible for us to predict all such risk factors, nor can we assess the effect of all such risk factors on our business or the extent to which any factor or combination of factors may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of the assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements made in this press release. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of the particular statement, and we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur, or which we become aware of, after the date hereof, except as otherwise may be required by law.

Media Contact
Shayla Ebsen, Director of Communications
Email: media.na@fluenceenergy.com
Phone: +1 (605) 645-7486

Analyst Contact
Lexington May, Vice President of Investor Relations
Email: investorrelations@fluenceenergy.com
Phone: +1 (713) 909-5629

FAQ

What safety standards did Fluence's energy storage technology exceed?

Fluence's technology surpassed UL9540A safety standards during the large-scale fire test.

What were the results of the large-scale fire test conducted by Fluence?

The test showed that thermal runaway could be contained within a single unit, preventing it from affecting neighboring units.

Who conducted the fire test for Fluence's energy storage technology?

The fire test was conducted by Fluence in partnership with the independent firm DNV.

What is Fluence's stock symbol?

Fluence trades under the stock symbol FLNC.

What does Fluence's successful fire test mean for energy storage systems?

It means that systems can continue operating efficiently even after a fire incident, minimizing economic losses.