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[Herald Economics] ESS and data center shut down by fire, EXCELLO 'Smart Blocking' as an alternative to prevent fire.
admin 2022-10-27 14:35:03
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<Concept Diagram of EXCELLO 'Smart Blocking'>

 

 

 

After the Kakao Pangyo Data Center conflagration, securing the safety of facilities that use large amounts of electricity, such as energy storage systems (ESS), is emerging as a national concern. This accident revealed that these facilities have no choice but to shut down the entire power supply once a fire starts and the damage is severe.

 

In particular, the thermal runaway phenomenon of a lithium-ion battery, which stores electric energy, has a potential for fire at any time. Once it gets fired, oxygen is continuously generated from the electrolyte in the battery and acts as a catalyst to spread the fire. Since it is difficult to prevent the fire in advance, there is a growing demand for measures to minimize damage.

 

'Smart Blocking' using a refractory material with a built-in monitoring sensor is being discussed as an alternative and attracting attention from the industry.

 

EXCELLO (CEO Park Seong-Jae) presented 'Smart Blocking' as a solution using the world's first refractory monitoring system 'IRS (Intelligent Real-time System) solution.'

 

Refractories are inorganic materials used in industries that involve high-temperature heat treatment. Installed in blocks inside facilities such as blast furnaces, electric arc furnaces, and incinerators, refractories can withstand molten iron up to 1600 degrees Celsius, thus protecting production facilities from high temperatures.

 

'Smart Blocking' is a method of dividing the inside of an ESS battery site or data center into multiple sections and building bulkheads with IRS refractory blocks between each section. The IRS developed by EXCELLO has a built-in sensor that can detect temperature and erosion conditions inside the refractory.

 

Through the IRS sensor, the administrator can grasp the status information of blocks, such as temperature, erosion, and cracks, in real-time and take preemptive measures when an abnormal situation occurs. For example, in the event of a fire in a particular section, administrators obtain real-time temperature information to determine the extent and size of the fire. Also, the refractory material can withstand high temperatures, preventing the fire from spreading to other sections.

 

IRS blocks can be customized and produced in various sizes, ranging from as small as a brick to as large as 1m or more. It is also competitive because it is easy to install and assemble like a block toy.

 

At the same time, even if a fire occurs in one section, the equipment in the other section operates at normal status because it can extinguish the fire without shutting down the whole power. It points out that the damage was severe in the Pangyo Data Center fire due to the shutdown of all facilities' power supply. EXCELLO explains that 'Smart Blocking' can minimize such damage.

 

Park Seong-Jae, CEO of EXCELLO, said, "There are methods such as data center mirroring and physical distribution of servers and ESSs, but it is impossible to eliminate the fundamental risk factors of fire. Therefore, this is considered the most advanced alternative."

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