R6 Carbon battery.The Australian Standards Association announces new specifications for the installation of rechargeable batteries that may affect the implementation of energy storage technology syste

According to foreign media reports, Standards Australia recently released a controversial latest battery installation standard. To this end, energy storage industry manufacturers claim that this regulation will cause Australian residential solar users to face higher installation costs and other issues when deploying energy storage systems in the future.

According to foreign media reports, Standards Australia recently released a controversial latest battery installation standard. To this end, energy storage industry manufacturers claim that this regulation will cause Australian residential solar users to face higher installation costs and other issues when deploying energy storage systems in the future.

Australia's battery installation standards have been drafted for five years and aim to fill a gap in safety guidance for Australia's home energy storage industry, particularly around concerns that batteries in energy storage systems could pose a fire hazard.

The standard is called AS/NZS 5139:2019, Electrical installation – Safety of battery systems for use in power conversion equipment, and Standards Australia says it is a key advancement for the energy storage industry to ensure battery energy storage systems are safe and consistent. and reliable.

But establishing a middle ground that provides reasonable and necessary protections for consumers and developing industry-wide, comprehensive standards and regulations for a variety of different energy storage technologies and batteries has proven difficult.

As industry media reported, a draft of the standard that would have banned the installation of lithium-ion battery energy storage systems in homes and garages was scrapped in late 2017 after fierce opposition from the industry.

Two years on, and despite industry promises of closer consultation, some major battery storage system manufacturers believe that the revised and now published version of the standard is no better than its previous iteration.

Of particular concern is the fact that all home battery energy storage systems (even those rated as having a negligible fire risk by Australian standards) require the installation of complex and expensive fire protection facilities when deployed.

These include the need to take steps to ensure batteries are not deployed too close to doors, windows, ceilings, stairs, etc. in homes.

For well-known energy storage companies such as Tesla Inc. and Shell's Sonnen Energy Storage Company, the steps are confusing. Because the two companies have installed hundreds of thousands of batteries for residential customers in the United States and Europe, none of them have spontaneously ignited so far.

James Sturch of Sonnen Australia said: This will make the deployment of energy storage systems very difficult, complex and costly. James Sturch represented Sonnen in Standards Australia's standardization process.

Sturch estimates that this will have a huge impact on the Australian energy storage industry. The new regulations may have an adverse impact on more than 75% of energy storage projects by energy storage manufacturers and add approximately $1,000 to the deployment cost of most energy storage systems.

On top of this, there will be many energy storage systems that are unlikely to be installed in most Australian homes or garages. For example, the Tesla Powerwall 2 and Sonnen battery energy storage systems are already encapsulated in their own fire-resistant containers,

Many battery manufacturers said that this standard may have the opposite effect than expected, but ignores the efforts of some energy storage manufacturers to ensure product safety.

The effect of this standardization means that customers focus their attention on the price of energy storage systems rather than safety or other technical specifications, especially since they are likely to spend more to install fire protection.

Sturch said the overarching message of the rule is to treat various energy storage systems as unproven energy storage technologies and all the same. Therefore, consumers may choose the cheapest energy storage product without paying attention to the brand and quality of the energy storage system, so safety cannot meet standards.

Standards Australia argued that when it came to consumer safety, standards were better than no standards at all and would need to be revised in the future.

Sandy Atkins, head of the technical committee responsible for the standard, said this could happen with any energy storage project, although other alternative technologies have been proposed throughout the process. This work requires consideration of existing information, security objectives, and the development of new technologies in complex domains.

Daniel Chidgey, head of stakeholders at Standards Australia, added that the revision of the Australian battery energy storage system standard will continue. This is a new standard that is expected to continue to be improved in the future as the industry develops.

He said: Given that Australia has never developed a standard for energy storage technology, developing this standard is a difficult task.

Australia's Smart Energy Council said the new standard was necessary to protect consumers, but it would seek to change some provisions to bring them in line with best practice guidance.

John Grimes, chief executive of the Australian Smart Energy Council, said: "We remain concerned about the parts of the standards related to fire safety and the negative impact on the installation of energy storage systems. We will pursue an early and fast-tracked revision process to correct deficiencies and address other issues that will inevitably arise when implementing the new standard.

He said the Australian Smart Energy Council will follow the "Battery Best Practice Installation Guide" version 2 cited in the new standard.

He said the standard was much more complete than the original draft that was rejected in 2017 and a workshop would be held for installers and retailers in November to explain what the new standard meant.

The Australian Clean Energy Council said it would focus on supporting its members to fully understand the new standards and how to implement them, while also working to amend some controversial parts.

Kane Thornton, head of the Australian Smart Energy Council, said clauses 4.2.4.2 and 5.2.4.2 of the standard set out requirements for preventing the spread of fire and battery installation clearances.

Thornton said: Developing effective battery installation standards will help limit the installation of unreliable, high-risk batteries, ensuring consumer confidence in battery safety and the continued growth of the energy storage industry..