Firefighters are preparing to enter the Gateway lithium-ion battery storage power station in Otamesa (source: San Diego Joint Forum)
On site, due to air monitors showing dangerous levels of hydrogen gas (a highly flammable gas), firefighters established a 600 foot safety barrier around the Camino De La Fuente facility for over 22 hours.

The Gateway energy storage power station has a scale of 250MW and uses LG Chem lithium-ion batteries. It was put into operation by LS Power, an energy company headquartered in New York. It was officially connected to the grid in August 2020 and was the world's largest lithium-ion battery storage project at that time. According to the LS Power website, the Gateway energy storage power station utilizes noon solar power generation to store energy and provide electricity for use during peak hours at night. The occurrence of the Gateway energy storage power plant fire has intensified the debate over the construction of battery energy storage projects in Beixian County.

In recent years, multiple safety accidents have occurred at energy storage power plants in various parts of the world. The safety of energy storage power plants has not only attracted high attention from regulatory authorities and the industry, but residents have also raised many doubts about the safety issues of energy storage power plants. The safety of energy storage power stations is a complex issue that involves multiple aspects, including battery technology, system design, operation and maintenance, emergency response, etc. The existing energy storage stations that have been put into operation mostly use lithium-ion battery technology. In some cases, thermal runaway may occur, leading to fire or explosion, posing a threat to personnel safety and potentially causing significant property damage.

Energy storage is becoming a crucial step in the global transition to clean energy, but frequent fires at energy storage plants or thermal runaway of batteries cannot be completely eradicated at the root. To avoid this safety hazard as much as possible, in addition to improving product quality and implementing strict safety standards, it is crucial to research and develop battery technology routes with inherent high safety, no risk of combustion or explosion, such as flow batteries.