Battery-room fire requirements: lithium-ion capacity and design preparation

Circular 3/2025 applies from 1 August 2025 to specified new building-plan submissions, including new buildings and defined major reconstruction or alteration cases. It should not be read as a blanket same-date retrofit rule for every existing installation.

The amendment requires water-based automatic fixed protection in fire compartments containing more than 20 kWh of lithium-ion batteries, with cases above 600 kWh requiring individual consideration by FSD. Check the complete amendment for applicability.

Before design discussions, obtain battery chemistry, module and total capacity, and expansion plans from the supplier, alongside room and compartment drawings. A UPS model alone may not describe the installed battery arrangement.

Ask the team to identify fire, ventilation, extraction, electrical and monitoring responsibilities, with maintenance access. Evaluate these as a coordinated design instead of comparing only the price of one suppression product.

Adding battery modules or changing chemistry can alter the basis of the original design. Update the capacity schedule and layout before procurement and ask the professional team to assess the proposed change.

Separate design coordination, installation, testing and documentation in the quotation, with a list of client information needed. Retain the final capacity and configuration records for maintenance and future expansion.