LG Energy Solution said on Tuesday it signed a memorandum of understanding with Korea Electrical Safety Corp to strengthen safety for energy storage systems (ESS).

The two sides agreed to cooperate in areas including support for ESS facility safety management policies, boosting response capabilities to safety accidents through information sharing between the institutions, training specialised personnel and technology exchanges, and ESS safety support and technical cooperation. They will jointly prepare a new safety management framework for new sites where LG Energy Solution’s LFP (lithium iron phosphate) batteries for ESS are applied, including operation, inspection and testing standards.

Domestic safety standards are currently centred on nickel-based batteries. There are no standards specialised for LFP batteries. The two institutions agreed to work to revise safety management rules tailored to LFP characteristics by reflecting operating data and on-site experience. This is expected to affect efforts to enhance the reliability of domestic LFP-based ESS and expand the market.

LG Energy Solution is the only domestic company with a large-scale mass-production system for LFP batteries. It has previously said it would push for domestic production of LFP batteries at its Ochang Energy Plant in North Chungcheong province. More than 90 percent of global ESS installations use LFP batteries, market research firm SNE Research said. LFP batteries have high cost competitiveness and lower fire risk.

Kim Dong-myung, CEO of LG Energy Solution, said, "Based on this agreement, we will apply the highest level of safety standards to ESS sites using LG Energy Solution batteries, and we will do our best to build a safety framework and ecosystem for LFP batteries for ESS in Korea."

Nam Hwa-young, president of Korea Electrical Safety Corp, said, "For the ESS industry, which is at the core of energy security, to continue to grow, safety must be guaranteed above all." He said, "Through cooperation with LG Energy Solution, which has technological capabilities leading the global market, we will create a safe energy ecosystem that people can trust and use."