Mohamed Kamaludeen, technical program manager at the DOE Office of Electricity, shares opening remarks on the state of battery energy storage systems in the US at the 2026 Energy Storage Systems Safety & Reliability Forum / Credit: Alicia Bustillos, Sandia National LaboratoriesMatthew Paiss addresses the audience about lessons from systems’ successes and failures. / Credit: Alicia Bustillos, Sandia National LaboratoriesScenes from the 2026 Energy Storage Systems Safety & Reliability Forum / Credit: Alicia Bustillos, Sandia National LaboratoriesJack Norris, manager of the performance analysis team and program at the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, shares a national evaluation of battery energy storage system reliability as part of the keynote at the 2026 Energy Storage Systems Safety & Reliability Forum. / Credit: Alicia Bustillos, Sandia National LaboratoriesYuliya Preger, researcher at Sandia National Laboratories and one of the event organizers, welcomes attendees to the 2026 Energy Storage Systems Safety & Reliability Forum. / Credit: Alicia Bustillos, Sandia National LaboratoriesNathan Johnson, researcher at Sandia National Laboratories, shares a tutorial at the 2026 Energy Storage Systems Safety & Reliability Forum about the causes of thermal runaway in batteries. New to the event this year, tutorials offered deep dives on topics relevant to the growing industry and grid-scale batteries’ use nationwide. / Credit: Alicia Bustillos, Sandia National LaboratoriesLorraine Torres-Castro, who leads Sandia National Laboratories battery safety thrust area and spearheaded Sandia’s efforts to host the forum, takes in a tutorial at the 2026 Energy Storage Systems Safety & Reliability Forum. / Credit: Alicia Bustillos, Sandia National LaboratoriesMohamed Kamaludeen, technical program manager at the DOE Office of Electricity, takes notes at a technical session a the 2026 Energy Storage Systems Safety & Reliability Forum. / Credit: Alicia Bustillos, Sandia National LaboratoriesScenes from the 2026 Energy Storage Systems Safety & Reliability Forum / Credit: Alicia Bustillos, Sandia National LaboratoriesScenes from the 2026 Energy Storage Systems Safety & Reliability Forum: Attendees pose questions during one of the event’s Q&A sessions./ Credit: Alicia Bustillos, Sandia National LaboratoriesMohamed Kamaludeen, technical program manager at the DOE Office of Electricity, participates in an XR demonstration designed to help fire fighters practice their response to emergencies involving battery systems. / Credit: Alicia Bustillos, Sandia National LaboratoriesAttendees at the 2026 Energy Storage Systems Safety & Reliability Forum / Credit: Alicia Bustillos, Sandia National LaboratoriesAn attendee participates in an XR demonstration designed to help fire fighters practice their response to emergencies involving battery systems. / Credit: Alicia Bustillos, Sandia National LaboratoriesJack Norris, manager of the performance analysis team and program at the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, shares a national evaluation of battery energy storage system reliability as part of the keynote at the 2026 Energy Storage Systems Safety & Reliability Forum. / Credit: Alicia Bustillos, Sandia National LaboratoriesFelipe Palacios II and Valerio DeAngelis (Sandia National Laboratories) compete to complete a scavenger hunt at the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History during a networking reception held following the 2026 Energy Storage Systems Safety & Reliability Forum. / Credit: Alicia Bustillos, Sandia National LaboratoriesScenes from the 2026 Energy Storage Systems Safety & Reliability Forum: Participants browse exhibits at the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History during the networking reception held following the 2026 Energy Storage Systems Safety & Reliability Forum / Credit: Alicia Bustillos, Sandia National LaboratoriesAttendees gather outside the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History for a group photo following the 2026 Energy Storage Systems Safety & Reliability Forum. / Credit: Alicia Bustillos, Sandia National Laboratories
