What happened: A presentation given by a firefighter to a regional NSW council compared exploding e-scooter batteries to a proposed community battery. The battery, set to be installed and hooked up to the energy grid, remains in storage.
Was this a fair comparison?
Let’s start here: The first thing you think of when you hear “lithium-ion batteries” is whatever is most likely powering the device you're reading this on.
The battery in your phone, vape, laptop, games console, as well as e-bikes and scooters.
These batteries come from a wide range of suppliers with varying degrees of quality and safety. When these batteries burst into flames, it’s known as “thermal runaway”.
Chemistry: The big batteries being used in Australia's power grid are a bit different. They use lithium iron phosphate (LFP), which is more stable and less likely to experience thermal runaway.
They also have no use for nickel or cobalt. Seventy percent of the world's cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where an estimated 40,000 children work in the mines.
🗣️Niels Leemput, engineering manager for batteries at Engie Australia, told the National Account the manufacturing process of big batteries is automated, with 20-year warranties in place. The company only uses LFP for its big batteries.
Temperature: Leemput said the big battery's temperature is controlled by a liquid system that adjusts depending on the weather.
"We want them to be happy to make money for us. Let's be honest. So they have to be happy and live long."
He said there are multiple detection systems, including temperature and pressure sensors, that can help operators prevent a fire.
Fire: Big batteries are also equipped with internal firewalls, as well as panels at the top to release pressure, among many other safety features.
Leemput said big companies ask for fire tests from manufacturers, which are then filmed measuring temperature and gases. Insurance companies are also requiring these tests to be done.
Narrabri: On 19 March 2025, a presentation was given to the Narrabri Shire Council in regional NSW by Fire and Rescue NSW Superintendent Tom Cooper.
At the time, the town was considering the installation of a new community battery that would have soaked up excess solar energy generated during the day and distributed it to the town at night.
During Cooper's presentation, he showed videos of drill and e-scooter batteries exploding.
"That's a drill battery. So if you compare that to one of those battery energy storage things that's as big as a caravan, you can imagine what's going to happen,” he said.
His experience:
Cooper said he hadn’t had any experience or delt with storage battery fires.
“[I] Haven't been to any of those sort of things. However, it's just a matter of, if there's a malfunction in the unit, then it will catch fire and it will have consequences.”
Reaching out: When this story first appeared in the media, the National Account asked Cooper if he “would like to explain his side of the story.”
"I've been quoted out of context, and will not be making any further comment," he said before hanging up the phone.
Fire and Rescue: The National Account asked Fire and Rescue New South Wales a series of questions about Superintendent Cooper's presentation, including:
Does Fire and Rescue NSW consider Superintendent Cooper's presentation to have accurately represented the fire risks of the community battery proposed for Narrabri?
Does Fire and Rescue NSW have specific safety concerns about community-scale LFP Battery Energy Storage Systems of the type proposed?
The response: A spokesperson for Fire and Rescue New South Wales referred the National Account to this statement given to the ABC:
The "Narrabri project proposal was below the threshold that requires FRNSW assessment."