• LG Energy Solution Vertech is making safety and compliance a foundational part of ESS design, supported by rigorous testing, evolving codes and standards, and capabilities across the project life cycle.
• Through proactive compliance and early engagement, the company supports project permitting and helps build confidence in ESS safety.

After more than a decade of relatively flat growth, electricity demand in the U.S. is rising again. As energy storage system (ESS) deployment expands to meet this growing demand, safety is becoming an increasingly important consideration for customers, insurers, Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJs), and local communities. In the U.S., a record 20.2 GWh of new energy storage capacity was installed in the second quarter of 2026, underscoring the need for rigorous testing, compliance with evolving standards, and transparent communication throughout the entire project life cycle.

Codes and standards such as NFPA 855 and UL 9540A are placing greater emphasis on large-scale fire testing and additional measures that demonstrate ESS safety. LG Energy Solution Vertech addresses these evolving requirements through safety-focused ESS design, proactive testing and compliance planning, and stakeholder engagement throughout project development and operation.

Kevin Fok, Director of Compliance at LG Energy Solution Vertech, shares how early compliance and testing can support project permitting. He also explains how the company is adapting to changes in codes and standards while building trust through stakeholder engagement and transparency.

Q. As electricity demand in the U.S. continues to rise, how can ESS support the grid, and how does LG Energy Solution Vertech help customers deploy and operate ESS projects?

A: Electricity demand in the U.S. is expected to increase by 30 to 50 percent by 2034 due to a combination of population growth, building electrification, heavy industry and manufacturing, data centers and AI compute demand, electric vehicle charging, and thermal generation retirements. Battery energy storage systems provide capabilities to help power generation sources meet this demand.

ESS provides the capability to store and release energy when it is needed. LG Energy Solution Vertech provides customers with complete solutions and support throughout the project life cycle, including delivery, installation, commissioning, and operations phases. LG Energy Solution Vertech has local, in-country service team members to provide onsite and digital support, engineering, project management, and contract support.

Safety across the entire project life cycle is also very important. This includes not only manufacturing, delivery, installation, and commissioning, but also operations and maintenance, decommissioning, outbound transport, and recycling and disposal.

Q. How does LG Energy Solution Vertech build safety into ESS design and apply this approach across its solutions?

A: The LG Energy Solution Vertech safety approach includes treating safety as a foundational design pillar, building upon a strong heritage and experience with batteries, and being actively involved and collaborating with stakeholders.

LG Energy Solution Vertech brings together unique capabilities of vertical integration and end-to-end capabilities for ESS projects. LG Energy Solution Vertech has strong battery management (BMS) and energy management (EMS) products that provide not only dashboard status and monitoring capabilities, but also analytical and predictive capabilities for enhancing operations and optimizing ESS assets.

As part of building safety into the fundamental product design, LG Energy Solution Vertech works with third-party experts during product development in order to provide additional knowledge, experience, and reviews.

LG Energy Solution Vertech has published videos for communicating safety information, including an emergency response guide and large-scale fire testing. LG Energy Solution Vertech regularly participates in safety conferences and has also presented with a fire protection engineering company at the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Annual Conference & Expo 2025.

Q. As technology and ESS products evolve, how does LG Energy Solution Vertech keep pace with changing codes and standards?

A: Because technology development outpaces codes and standards development, Standards Development Organizations (SDOs) are working to publish draft or provisional text sooner. AHJs and insurance companies are also moving to adopt the most recent versions of codes and standards much sooner.

LG Energy Solution Vertech develops and designs products according to the latest versions of codes and standards, and this approach helps with staying abreast of current requirements. My involvement in standards technical committees helps with providing firsthand insights to help LG Energy Solution Vertech, as well as our work with third party experts.

With over 100,000 global patents, LG Energy Solution has a strong heritage of innovation and proactively moving the industry forward. LG Energy Solution has innovations on all fronts, including the products, manufacturing, BMS, EMS, and other areas.

Q. Can you share an example of how proactive safety testing and compliance efforts have supported ESS project permitting?

A: Yes, there have been several examples of how being proactive with safety compliance aspects has influenced project success.

For project siting, there were AHJ requests to have enclosure-level fire tests and there was a period of time during which Large-Scale Fire Tests (LSFTs) were performed based on highly customized and bespoke procedures. When the CSA Group Technical Specification (CSA TS) 800:24 large-scale fire test protocol (an excerpt of CSA C800) was published in September 2024, LG Energy Solution quickly put it into practice for its LSFT in January 2025. This helped project permitting efforts with test results and reports based on a standard test protocol.

Project permitting was also aided by LG Energy Solution Vertech’s tests to evaluate explosion protection designs and systems, including:

• Gas dispersion: To evaluate the exhaust ventilation system for maintaining combustible gas concentration below 25 percent of the lower flammability limit.
• Partial volume deflagration testing: To evaluate the ability of deflagration panels for handling pockets of gas that might be ignited.

Having the test results helped customers and AHJs understand the safety approaches and their demonstrated effectiveness.

LG Energy Solution Vertech has engaged with some AHJs as part of initiating dialogues and educational outreach efforts. These have been helpful in getting a better understanding of requirements upfront, which helped LG Energy Solution Vertech with compliance document deliverables, as well as benefiting the customers.

Q. What safety and compliance questions do customers raise when evaluating ESS projects, particularly regarding fire testing and gas analysis?

A: With regard to safety and compliance, customers are often focused on the versions of codes and standards that products comply with, such as UL 9540, UL 9540A, and NFPA 855. To help address this, LG Energy Solution Vertech designs and tests products according to the most recent versions of codes and standards available at the time.

Customers have also been interested in large-scale fire testing and gas analysis. Since its very first large ESS project in 2013, LG Energy Solution has been performing fire testing, and current large-scale fire tests are performed according to UL 9540A Edition 6 in close collaboration with Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories (NRTLs). While it is a new and developing area, gas analysis is also performed to the extent possible to provide additional information from LSFTs. To help with understanding the test results and linking them to meeting code requirements, interpretation reports based on LSFT reports and data are prepared by third-party fire protection experts.

Q. As ESS deployment expands, what will be most important for strengthening safety, public trust, and regulatory confidence?

A: The rapid growth of ESS has also expanded the group of stakeholders involved. Earlier projects mainly had technical stakeholders, but today, they include economic and financial, insurance, and community stakeholders as well. That is why it is important to engage stakeholders early in the process and to follow up regularly.

The two main priorities are engaging with stakeholders early and often and providing transparency. Ongoing stakeholder engagement is important because it provides opportunities to mutually learn and to also involve additional stakeholders as the industry and market continue to mature. As part of effective stakeholder engagement, transparency is needed as part of building trust and conveying information about safety, emergency response, products, testing, operations & maintenance, and life cycle management.

Kevin Fok is the Director of Compliance at LG Energy Solution Vertech, where he leads compliance strategy and requirements for battery energy storage system architecture and design. He serves on multiple codes and standards committees for UL, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the International Code Council (ICC), and CSA.  He is also involved with safety education and serves on the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) Li-Ion Battery Committee, as well as participating in a safety video and podcast.

He has extensive experience in renewable energy, with roles in sales, business development, marketing, engineering, project management, and operations across lithium-ion batteries, solar photovoltaics (PV), nickel-metal hydride batteries, fuel cells, and hydrogen storage.  He is a co-inventor on 13 U.S. patents.  In support of industry communications, he has presented, moderated, or chaired sessions at over 120 conferences and events.

He holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA), a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering, and a Michigan Ross Distinguished Leader Executive Certificate, all from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.  He is committed to the next generation of leaders through active mentorship within the University of Michigan College of Engineering and Ross School of Business.

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