From 11^th to 13^th November, Dr Ulises Rojas-Alva represented SFPE Foundation at the SFPE Engineering Solutions Symposium on Addressing European Lithium-Ion Battery Fire Safety Challenges, held in Lisbon. The three-day event gathered leading experts from research, industry, and emergency response to discuss the rapidly evolving fire risks associated with lithium-ion batteries across consumer electronics, e-mobility, electric vehicles, and energy storage systems (ESS).

Dr Rojas-Alva delivered a presentation on the work of the SFPE Grand Challenges Initiative, Energy & Infrastructure Working Group (GCI E&I WG). His talk focused on the group’s ongoing activities and recent outcomes, including the current project “Energy Storage Systems (ESS) Hazards”, funded by the SFPE Foundation. This project brings together ZAG–FRISSBE and Fire & Risk Alliance as consortium partners and aims to advance scientific understanding and practical mitigation strategies for ESS fire hazards.

The symposium provided an in-depth overview of lithium-ion battery hazard fundamentals, regulatory frameworks, design approaches, and emerging safety challenges. Participants also discussed diagnostics, monitoring, and fire safety solutions for EVs, e-bikes, and ESS installations, concluding with a technical tour of a newly constructed data centre.

We are grateful to the SFPE Foundation, whose support covered Dr Rojas-Alva’s conference participation, and to Amanda Tarbet for coordinating the GCI Working Group’s efforts.