Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to help mitigate the risk of thermal runaways in battery energy storage facilities.

Grid-scale batteries are regulated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) within a framework which requires battery designers, installers and operators to take the necessary measures to ensure health and safety throughout all stages of the system’s construction, operation and decommissioning.

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) is considering options, including environmental permitting, to further mitigate thermal runaway risk in battery storage facilities. The Department’s officials are supporting this work.