HazMat Expert Shapes OCP Safety Rules for Data Center Battery Storage
Waxahachie, Texas – September 12, 2026 -- Americase International said Mike Pagel, Principal Consultant with its HazMat Safety Consulting subsidiary, contributed dangerous goods and regulatory expertise to a January 2026 Open Compute Project (OCP) white paper setting safety requirements for energy storage systems (ESS) deployed in data centers amid rising AI and high-performance computing power demands.
OCP guidance targets battery risks from rack-level backups to large-scale storage
The white paper, Requirements for Energy Storage Systems Used in Data Centers, covers configurations ranging from rack-level battery backup units and centralized uninterruptible power supply systems to larger battery energy storage systems (BESS). It addresses battery chemistry, testing, fire protection, transportation, emergency response and end-of-life management for lithium-ion, nickel-zinc, lead-acid, sodium-ion and supercapacitor systems.