Loraine Torres-Castro, a battery safety researcher at Sandia National Laboratories, presented a keynote talk titled “Large-Scale Testing and Mitigation Strategies for Thermal Runaway in Battery Energy Storage Systems” at the American Chemical Society 2026 Spring Meeting. The presentation took place as part of the Innovations in Heat Resistant Materials and Fire Safety symposium (Division of Polymeric Materials Science and Engineering Division) on March 25, 2026. The talk focused on large-scale experimental testing and mitigation strategies for thermal runaway events in battery energy storage systems, studied by Torres-Castro and team members.
Thermal runaway in lithium-ion battery energy storage systems poses a major safety risk, including fire propagation, toxic gas release, and large-scale system failure. As grid-scale storage deployment accelerates, improving safety is critical for utilities, regulators, manufacturers, and the public. This work provides insights from large-scale testing that are closer to real-world conditions than lab-scale studies and evaluates practical mitigation strategies. These findings help inform safer system design, better fire suppression approaches, and improved industry standards, directly impacting sectors such as energy infrastructure, transportation, and emergency response.
Keynote talks held at the American Chemical Society’s national meetings are highly selective and widely attended by leading researchers and industry professionals. The Innovations in Heat Resistant Materials and Fire Safety symposium brings together interdisciplinary experts across fire science, materials engineering, and safety technologies. Inclusion as a keynote speaker highlights the relevance and impact of this work within the scientific and engineering community.
Citation: L. Torres-Castro, “Large-scale testing and mitigation strategies for thermal runaway in battery energy storage systems,” keynote talk presented at the American Chemical Society 2026 Spring Meeting, Innovations in Heat Resistant Materials and Fire Safety symposium, Division of Polymeric Materials Science and Engineering Division, 25 Mar. 2026. https://acs.digitellinc.com/p/s/large-scale-testing-and-mitigation-strategies-for-thermal-runaway-in-battery-energy-storage-systems-655404
Photo: Torres-Castro presents a keynote at the American Chemical Society 2026 Spring Meeting. Photo courtesy of Lorraine Torres-Castro.
This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Electricity, Energy Storage Division, and by ARPA-E through the JOULES Program.