Can Functional Safety Prevent Battery Energy Storage System Fires? Applying IEC 61508 to Battery Management Systems
Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are increasingly important to grid stability and renewable energy integration, but their safety depends heavily on the correct operation of the Battery Management System (BMS). This webinar examines whether the principles of IEC 61508 should be applied to BMS design and lifecycle management. Using incident examples and a bowtie view of BESS risk, the presenters will explore the BMS as a safety-related control system, identify potential preventative safety functions and consider how functionality and integrity requirements could be defined and demonstrated. The session will also review current industry practice, relevant links with IEC 62619, and the practical challenges of applying functional safety to existing BMS architectures. It will conclude with proportionate recommendations for treating the BMS as a preventative safety system and addressing functional safety early in the design lifecycle.
The topic sits directly at the intersection of safety engineering, reliability, control-system integrity and the energy transition. It challenges the common treatment of the BMS as primarily an operational or optimisation layer and asks whether its role in preventing thermal runaway warrants a more explicit functional-safety approach. SaRS members will gain a structured way to consider BMS safety functions, performance requirements, lifecycle assurance and the balance between preventative and mitigative barriers. The webinar should also prompt useful cross-sector discussion on how established functional-safety principles can be applied proportionately to an emerging technology.
The webinar will be applicable to Functional safety engineers and assessors; safety and reliability engineers; BESS designers, integrators and operators; battery and BMS engineers; electrical, control and instrumentation engineers; risk and process safety specialists; asset managers; technical authorities; assurance and regulatory professionals.
Webinar Technical Level: Introductory
To register for the webinar please click here.
Our presenters will be Simon Burwood and Jonathan Gale from ERM
Simon is a Partner at ERM, a Chartered Engineer, Fellow of SaRS, CASS-registered Functional Safety Assessor and TÜV Rheinland Functional Safety Expert. He has more than 20 years’ experience in functional safety and technical risk management and represents the UK on the IEC 61508 and IEC 61511 maintenance committees.
Jonathan is a TÜV Rheinland Functional Safety Engineer with six years’ functional and process safety experience across hazardous industries. He has operational experience as a Technical Safety Engineer for a major energy operator and is an Associate Member of IChemE.
The webinar will start at 12:30 UK time and last for 75 minutes.
Starts
Tuesday, 3rd November 2026 at 12:30pm
Ends
Tuesday, 3rd November 2026 at 1:45pm