Research

Research on thermal runaway mechanism and fire risk assessment technology of power lithium-ion batteries in transportation scenarios (LiThermIon)

Budget: 12.790,00 €

Financing: Chinese Academy of Sciences

Project coordinator:  University of Science and Technology of China (USTC)

Contact person at ZAG: Ulises Rojas-Alva

Partners: USTC, ZAG (Ulises Rojas-Alva as a guest researcher).

Duration: 2025 to 2026

Given the unique characteristics of transportation scenarios, such as vibration and shock in land transportation, accurately assessing the risk of thermal runaway in multi-modal scenarios is difficult. Establishing a quantitative fire risk assessment method for lithium-ion battery thermal runaway is a key scientific problem that this project urgently needs to solve. The expected results are:

• Ellucidating the evolution mechanism of thermal runaway risk of powered LIB under transportation conditions.
• Understanding the key factors of transportation, environmental factors, battery parameters, and battery thermal runaway behaviour affecting the propagation of battery thermal runaway to the surrounding space.
• Establish a physical prediction model of fire risk of LIB based on multimodal transportation scenarios.

Fire incident data of Li-ion batteries in EVs and other applications to characterise fire scenarios, support standards improvements, and enhance resilience plans in the built environment

Financial mechanism: N0MES PhD Funding / University of Liverpool

Financing: they cover the stipend and salary for a PhD student (ZAG contributes in-kind hours, as Ulises is the second supervisor).

Project coordinator: University of Liverpool

Contact person at ZAG: Ulises Rojas-Alva

Partners: University of Liverpool and ZAG

Duration: 3 years (October 2025 to October 2028)

Societies are becoming more aware of climate change, and there are many efforts to create a more sustainable planet. One of these efforts is the development of lithium-ion batteries and their integration into various applications, such as electric vehicles (EVs). Lithium-ion batteries are increasingly present in our daily lives, and they pose fire and explosion hazards for several reasons. The consequences of such hazards can be extensive, affecting society, particularly the population, first responders, and maritime communities, as well as the built environment. Understanding the fire behaviour of Li-ion batteries is paramount for designing effective mitigation strategies to deploy this technology safely. The specialised communities undertake significant efforts to understand the hazards posed by batteries and develop guidelines for safer use. The purpose of this project is to:

1. Understand international fire incident data sets on EVs regarding terminology and collection methodology to evaluate fire risk, consequences, and influencing factors.
2. Evaluate current guidelines and regulations about batteries and EVs to propose updates based on real-fire scenarios.
3. Create resilience and preparedness plans for communities and the maritime industry to prevent fire likelihood and mitigate the consequences associated with EV fires.

Guidance on Fire Safety linked to the Renovation and Electrification of Buildings (FS-REBuild)

Project number:  FV24_517#ENER.B3#PO#4500128892 (EC-ENER/2025/OP/0023)

Budget: 350.000,00 € (85.000,00 € for ZAG)

Financial mechanism: European Commission Tender

Project coordinator: Danish Institute of Fire and Security Technology (DBI)

Contact person at ZAG: Grunde Jomaas

Partners: ZAG, Efectis, Fundación Tecnalia Research & Innovation, DBI

Duration: Nov 2025 to April 2027

This project was awarded the tender number. ENER/B3/2024-517 for “Guidance on fire safety linked to the electrification and renovation of buildings”. The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) is the main legal instrument of the European Union for promoting the energy performance of buildings and implementing the Renovation Wave. The EPBD aims to improve the energy performance of residential and non-residential buildings within the Union, taking into account outdoor climatic and local conditions, as well as indoor climate requirements and cost-effectiveness. Although fire safety is not the core purpose of the EPBD, it is addressed in several provisions, such as the construction and renovation of buildings, the provision of guidance and training and the preparation of National Building Renovation Plans. The project goal is to prepare fire safety guidance for the electrification and renovation of buildings for solar installations, insulation, and other parts of the building envelope, storage systems, and other technical building elements, such as heating appliances.

Electric Vehicle Fire Risk Assessment in Buildings (eRISIKO)

Project code: 101236710

Budget: 450.900,00 € (25.050,00 €) 

Financing: HORIZON-MSCA-2024, under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Staff Exchanges Action

Project Coordinator: Universidad de Navarra 

Contact Person: Dr Ulises Rojas-Alva

Partners: The University of Liverpool, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Fire and Rescue Academy of Malaysia

Duration: 4 years (1.1.2026 - 31.12.2029)

The eRISIKO project enhances international mobility and knowledge exchange to address the evolving fire risks of electric vehicles (EVs) in buildings. Through structured staff exchanges among Universidad de Navarra (UNAV), University of Liverpool (UoL), and Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), researchers will collaborate across disciplines in fire engineering, risk assessment, and AI-driven safety solutions. The project has three key objectives: (1) Conducting experimental and computational studies on EV fire dynamics, led by UPM, focusing on heat release rates, flame spread, and fire suppression. (2) Integrating international fire incident data and regulatory analysis, led by UoL, to enhance risk quantification and inform safety policies. (3) Developing an AI-driven fire risk assessment tool, led by UNAV, dynamically adapting to real-time data and regulatory needs. To support mobility and interdisciplinary collaboration, researchers will undertake secondments at partner institutions, gaining cross-institutional expertise in fire experiments, computational modelling, and AI risk assessment. Annual workshops, conferences, and a final summer school at UNAV will facilitate ongoing cooperation, dissemination, and engagement with industry, policymakers, and fire safety agencies. Aligned with European mobility goals, Horizon Europe priorities, and the European Green Deal, eRISIKO will build a sustainable research network linking Europe and Asia. By fostering international mobility, capacity building, and applied research, the project will advance fire safety knowledge, create long-term collaboration, and contribute to global EV fire risk mitigation efforts.

Improving fire performance of wooden constructions through charring and sustainable biobased fire-retardant processes

Project Code: BI-TR/25-27-007

Budget: 8000 €

Financing: ARIS (national funding)

Project Coordinator: Laetitia Marrot and Prof Hüseyin Sivrikaya

Contact person: Dr Laetitia Marrot 

Partners: Bartin University, Faculty of Forestry

Duration: 2 years (1.5.2025 - 30.4.2027)

This bilateral cooperation aims at developing innovative wood treatments for improved fire performance through a combination of advanced charring techniques and the development of bio-based fire-retardants and coatings. The proposed research will advance scientific understanding of wood combustion and fire retardancy mechanisms.

Framework for smart condition reassessment of Reclaimed Timber to eXtend the service life of long-lived wood products using non-destructive testing and automated data postprocessing (Ti-ReX)

Project Code: 101102316

Budget: 1369K € (300K €)

Financing: ForestValue2 Joint Call 2023

Project Coordinator: Katarzyna OSTAPSKA, SINTEF, Norway

Contact person: Dr Andrea LUCHERINI

Partners: ZAG, SINTEF, Technical University of Madrid, Warsaw University of Technology, Aalto University, Vidzemes University of Applied Sciences, Rambøll Norge AS, Trondheim Kommune

Duration: 3 years (15 Apr 2024 - 14 Apr 2027)

The main objective of this project is to develop feasible procedures for assessing and documenting the reclaimed timber's condition that allows for its reuse per the current European design standards, enabling a circular economy transition within the timber construction industry. The project will expand the knowledge within the condition assessment of reclaimed timber using an optimal combination of several selected nondestructive testing techniques and automated timber customised data processing and visualisation.

ARC (Accelerating Rate Calorimeter) 

Budget: 155K € (52.7K €)

Financing: ARIS (Paket 22)

Contact person: Dr Ulises ROJAS-ALVA

Partners: Kemijski Inštitut 

The Acceleratory Rate Calorimetry (ARC EVx) from Thermal Hazard Technology. It was acquired the ARC in consortium with the L18 Laboratory for Modern Battery Systems from National Institute of Chemistry. The ARC EVx brings new opportunities to carry out our research on the safety and performance of battery cells. We can now perform thermal degradation studies under various conditions to determine the onset of thermal runaway and the energy released during the phenomenon. It also allows us to conduct abuse testing, performance testing and gas collection.

FireSafePV materials

Budget: 11K € (5K €)

Financing: SFPE Student Research Grant

Partners: ZAG

Contact person: Nik Rus

This initiative will increase the already rising rate of new PV installations. However, putting a PV system on the roof has been shown to increase the extent of damage in case of a re,2 both because it can be the source of a re (including the DC and AC parts of the installation) and because the consequences of a roof re increase. Current estimates show that the annual expected number of res related to PV systems is 29 res/GW of the installed power.3 Many causes (in cases where the PV systems were the source of re) were related to the processes of installation and maintenance of the PV installation.

Assessing and improving the fire performance of building envelope systems.

Project Code:  L2-50046

Budget: 400K € (300K €)

Financing: ARRS (national funding)

Project Coordinator: Prof Grunde JOMAAS

Contact person: Prof Grunde JOMAAS

Partners: Rockwool, ZAG

Duration: 3 years (1 Oct 2023 - 30 Sep 2026)

The most common type of façades used in new construction and renovation projects are ETICS (External Thermal Insulation Composite System, 65%), cavity walls (19%) and ventilated facades (12%). ETICS systems are also the predominant type of façades installed in Slovenia for renovation of existing buildings and for new constructions. Considering the significant market of ETICS systems throughout Europe, along with the fire risk associated with façade systems, it is of great priority for the society and research community to increase the understanding of the fire behaviour of ETICS. The project will carry out an extensive experimental study that combines large-scale and mid-scale experiments to identify the sensitivity to failure of ETICS systems in a fire scenario.

Innovative engineered wood products made from thermo-hydro-mechanical densified wood with enhanced physical, mechanical and fire performance (WoDeFi)

Project Code: J4-50132

Budget: 300K €

Financing: ARIS

Project Coordinator: InnoRenew CoE (Slovenia)

Contact person: Dr. Ulises ROJAS-ALVA

Partners: ZAG, InnoRenew CoE

Duration: 3 years (1 Oct 2023 - 30 Sep 2026)

The project will be focused on developing a Thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) densification process in combination with other suitable wood modification treatments in order to add value to low quality wood species that traditionally weren’t use in construction. Then the optimized wood modification procedure will be applied into engineered timber products (EWPs) with construction element size to verify its improvement of mechanical properties and performance under fire.

Automatic IR radiant panels (ARRS)

Contact person: Dr Andrea Lucherini

Duration: 2 years (1 Oct 2022- 30 Sep 2024)

Within this research project, a bench-scale experimental apparatus for fire testing using high-performance radiant panels is designed and assembled following the state-of-the-art. The system can be combined with other experimental equipment to examine many aspects related to the thermal and mechanical behaviour of novel sustainable construction materials and systems exposed to fire.

Energy Independent and Efficient Deployable Military Camps (INDY): 

Project Code: 101103388

Budget: 14.4M € (€110K €)

Financing: European Defence Fund (EDF), 2021-ENERENV-D

Project Coordinator:  Friderik Knez

Contact person: Dr. Ulises ROJAS-ALVA

Partners: TECES (ZAG is a subcontractor), AVL List GmbH, CAFA TECH OU, CNV Consulting, Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives, Equipos Móviles de Campaña ARPA SAU, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Indra

Duration: 2 years (1 Dec 2022 - 30 Nov 2024)

With the selected proposals, the EDF will support high-end defence capability projects such as the next generation of aircraft fighters, tanks and ships, as well as critical defence technologies such as military cloud, AI, semiconductors, space, cyber or medical counter- measures. It will also spearhead disruptive technologies, notably in quantum technologies and new materials and tap into promising SMEs and start-ups.

Exploration Fire Safety (ExFires)

Project Code:  4000139129/22/NL/PA/pt

Budget: 20K € (20K €)

Financing: ESA- EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY

Project Coordinator: Prof Grunde JOMAAS

Contact person: Dr Ulises ROJAS-ALVA

Partners: ZARM (Centre of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity), University College London, UPMC (Universite Pierre et Marie Curie), JRC (Joint Research Centre)

Duration: 4 years (1 Jan 2022 - 1 Oct 2024)

Abstract: The Topical Team “Exploration Fire Safety (ExFireS)” aims to enhance fire safety in space vehicles and infrastructure. The focus of the team is on the development of material flammability experiments in microgravity that will serve as validation experiments for results from other microgravity facilities and for model development.