The FRISSBE–ZAG Fire Laboratory has officially been designated as a Ground-Based Facility of the European Space Agency (ESA) for research on the thermal stability and safety of battery technologies for spacecraft applications. This recognition marks a major milestone for FRISSBE and highlights our growing expertise in battery fire safety, an area of increasing relevance for both terrestrial and space systems.

This achievement is the result of a successful application led by Prof Grunde Jomaas and Dr Ulises Rojas-Alva, who now serves as the primary contact and coordinator of all ESA-related activities within the laboratory. With this designation, European researchers and industrial partners are now eligible to conduct battery fire and thermal degradation experiments at the FRISSBE Fire Lab with utilisation costs covered by ESA, pending proposal approval. To support this new role, a dedicated ESA section has been added to the FRISSBE website.

Why ESA Relies on Ground-Based Facilities

Ground-based facilities are specialised laboratories and equipment on Earth capable of simulating selected environmental conditions relevant to space missions. These facilities allow researchers to conduct high-value, cost-effective investigations into extreme environments, such as vacuum, radiation, and thermal hazards, long before technologies are deployed in orbit.

For ESA, these facilities are essential for maturing scientific concepts, improving material behaviour models, validating safety strategies, and reducing risk in future spaceflight missions.

Next Steps: Engaging the Slovene Research Community

Together with the National Institute of Chemistry (Kemijski Inštitut), FRISSBE is preparing an Open Day dedicated to Slovenian researchers interested in ESA-related testing and collaboration. The exact date will be announced soon.

A Significant Milestone for FRISSBE

This new ESA designation not only strengthens FRISSBE’s position at the forefront of battery fire-safety research but also opens the door for European academia and industry to perform cutting-edge experimental work under ESA funding.

Congratulations to Dr Ulises Rojas-Alva for leading this initiative and securing an important step forward for the FRISSBE project.