Purpose
The Hebei site was built for one job: burning full-size energy storage systems safely and measuring everything. It sits in Lingshan Town, Quyang County, enclosed by mountains on three sides — a natural barrier for long, high-risk tests — on an industrial plot with the permits that large burns need. It was co-built by Huahui Fire and Baoding Aidi New Energy.
What it tests
- Outdoor energy storage cabinets with an estimated peak heat release of 10–20 MW, under extreme thermal runaway and fire scenarios based on UL and NFPA requirements.
- BESS containers of 20–40 MW: full-scale fire tests with a large calorimeter, meeting NFPA 855 large-scale fire testing requirements.
- Electric vehicles: battery fire tests of complete vehicles.
- Planned: an indoor-scenario rack array test area for ESS installed in rooms.
Instrumentation
| System | Specification |
|---|---|
| Thermal runaway heating | PLC-controlled ramp or constant power; 10 DC supplies (0–500 V, 0–10 A, 1.5 kW each), film, silicone, mica or ceramic heaters up to 300 °C |
| Temperature | 180 channels, 16-bit, 0–1370 °C |
| Heat flux | Water-cooled gauges: 2 × 5 kW/m², 4 × 10 kW/m², 4 × 20 kW/m²; up to 16 at once |
| Gas | Online O₂, CO, CO₂ (infrared), H₂ (Pd-Ni), FTIR (500–4500 cm⁻¹, 1 cm⁻¹); grab samples for GC-MS |
| Pressure | 0–15 psia absolute sensors, 20 kHz acquisition |
| Gas velocity | Dual-channel S-type pitot tubes, 0–500 Pa differential pressure |
| Ignition | Remote igniter with mass-flow-controlled burner for heat release calibration |
| Video | 2 HD, 2 thermal imaging, 1 high-speed camera, 4 site cameras |
| Charging | 2,000 V / 300 A two-channel charge–discharge cabinet for SOC conditioning |
Witnessing and logistics
The monitoring room sits more than 30 m from the specimen, with dual power supplies for 24–48 h operation. The client observation room, about 800 m away in the office building, shows live data and video on a large screen and can stream to remote witnesses. Sample storage, pre-conditioning to 100 % SOC, accommodation and a canteen support long test campaigns on site.
