June 5, 2024 – With the rapid development of China’s energy storage industry, the safety of lithium-ion battery energy storage systems has become increasingly critical. Recently, the Standardization Administration of China (SAC) officially released GB/T 44026-2024 “Technical Specification for Prefabricated Container-Based Lithium-Ion Battery Energy Storage Systems.” This landmark standard mandates thermal runaway protection at the cell level for the first time, imposing stricter safety requirements on energy storage systems. As a leading third-party testing laboratory in China, Anbotek leverages its extensive expertise in new energy testing to provide expert analysis of this standard’s core requirements, empowering enterprises to enhance product safety.
New Standard Core Requirements: The Thermal Runaway “Three No’s” Principle
GB/T 44026-2024 explicitly defines the fundamental safety baseline for energy storage systems during thermal runaway events for the first time. It mandates that if a single battery cell experiences thermal runaway, the system must ensure:
- No Fire
- No Explosion
- No Propagation of thermal runaway to adjacent battery modules
Furthermore, the standard imposes rigorous requirements on the fire-resistant materials, structural design, and thermal management of prefabricated energy storage containers to guarantee multi-level thermal runaway containment capabilities.
Anbotek Insight: Key Points of Thermal Runaway Propagation Testing
To validate the thermal runaway protection capabilities of energy storage systems, the new standard specifies stringent testing methods. Anbotek’s expert team summarizes the key testing points as follows:
1.Test Conditions
* Sample Selection: The cell at the center of the battery cluster shall be selected as the trigger unit to simulate the most severe thermal runaway propagation scenario.
* State of Charge (SOC): The trigger cell’s SOC must be adjusted to 95% to replicate extreme operating conditions under high-energy states.
2. Triggering & Monitoring
*Trigger Method: Apply constant-current charging until the cell reaches 300°C or exhibits thermal runaway characteristics (e.g., voltage plunge, sudden temperature surge).
*Monitoring Parameters:
- Temperature, voltage, and temperature rise rate of the trigger cell and adjacent cells;
- Gas composition analysis (e.g., concentrations of flammable gases like CO, CH₄);
- Visual observation for expansion, leakage, smoke, fire, or explosion.
3. Pass/Fail Criteria
Upon test completion, the energy storage system must meet:
- No open flames or explosions;
- No thermal runaway propagation to adjacent battery modules;
- Enclosure integrity maintained (no deformation or failure due to high temperatures).
Industry Impact: Driving Advancements in Energy Storage Safety
The implementation of GB/T 44026-2024 marks China’s entry into a new phase of “system-level safety protection” for the energy storage industry. Anbotek’s Head of New Energy Laboratory states:
“Previously, some companies lacked unified standards, resulting in inadequate thermal runaway protection designs. This new standard will drive industry-wide improvements in material selection and structural design, while mandating thermal runaway propagation testing to enhance overall safety.”
Anbotek Empowers Your Compliance Upgrade
As a CNAS and CMA accredited testing institution, Anbotek offers comprehensive thermal runaway testing capabilities for energy storage batteries, including:
- GB/T 44026-2024 Compliance Testing
- Thermal Runaway Propagation Simulation & Optimization Solutions
- Performance Evaluation of Fire-resistant Materials and Thermal Barrier Structures
- International Standards Benchmarking (e.g., UL 9540A, IEC 62619)
Anbotek remains committed to advancing energy storage safety technologies, empowering enterprises to enhance product competitiveness and accelerate high-quality industry development.
Post time: Jul-29-2025
