Data Center Battery Rules Differ by Country. Americase International and OCP Experts Will Tackle the "Compliance Gap"

Oct. 15 OCP Global Summit panel will draw on a January 2026 Open Compute Project white paper to help operators navigate conflicting energy storage codes.

WAXAHACHIE, Texas, Oct. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Rules for shipping, installing, storing and disposing of data center lithium batteries differ across countries and jurisdictions, and operators are left to reconcile them as AI drives demand growth for battery energy storage systems (ESS). Americase International will address that "compliance gap" in a panel at the 2026 Open Compute Project (OCP) Global Summit, Oct. 12–15 at the San Jose Convention Center, with two Americase International team members participating.

Battery failures in critical infrastructure can have far-reaching consequences. On Sept. 26, 2025, a lithium-ion battery fire at South Korea's National Information Resources Service data center in Daejeon affected 647 government information systems, disrupting public services nationwide. Officials said the fire started in an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) battery being relocated during maintenance. The incident shows why consistent rules for handling, relocating and replacing batteries matter as data centers expand their energy storage capabilities.

The Oct. 15 session, "The Compliance Gap: ESS Safety in the Age of AI Infrastructure," will explore findings from the Open Compute Project's white paper, Requirements for Energy Storage Systems Used in Data Centers, published in January 2026. The paper compiles the worldwide codes and standards that apply to energy storage in hyperscale and AI data centers, a growing challenge as these systems become more widespread and complex. Mike Pagel, Senior Consultant at HazMat Safety Consulting, an Americase International company, and a contributing author of the white paper is on the panel, moderated by Joel Chakkalakal, Director of Data Centers and Sustainability at Americase, an Americase International company.

"Investment in energy storage for AI data centers is moving faster than the regulations that govern it, and operators often don't know what they really have until the batteries are tested and classified. Too often, they find out when a shipment is held, a permit is delayed or an insurer pushes back," said Mike Pagel, Senior Consultant at HazMat Safety Consulting and a contributing author of the white paper. "This panel is about replacing guesswork with clear, practical steps teams can act on right away."

The 25-minute session, part of the OCP Ready™ Facilities / Power & Energy track, will examine how U.S. and international codes governing battery transportation, installation and operation overlap and conflict, whether emerging chemistries such as nickel-zinc should be treated differently from lithium-ion under current codes, and what operators, equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and supply chain partners can do now to identify compliance gaps and reduce risk exposure.

Moderator and Panelists

• Joel Chakkalakal (Moderator), Director of Data Centers and Sustainability, Americase, an Americase International company — An active member of the OCP community, Chakkalakal brings expertise in supply chain challenges, regulatory compliance and data center safety.
• Mike Pagel, Senior Consultant, HazMat Safety Consulting, an Americase International company — A contributing author of the white paper, Pagel specializes in lithium battery transportation regulations and helped inform the paper's guidance on dangerous goods transportation, regulatory compliance and lifecycle safety.
• Shrikanth "Sri" Venkateshappa, Director of Accounts DACH, Anord Mardix, a Flex company — Venkateshappa was a work stream lead and author of the white paper.
• Mauro Leuce, Senior Director, Global Design & Engineering Standards, Digital Realty — A co-author of the white paper, Leuce brings an operator's perspective on the challenges of deploying and managing energy storage systems across different regulatory environments.

Session Details

Session: The Compliance Gap: ESS Safety in the Age of AI Infrastructure

Track: OCP Ready™ Facilities / Power & Energy

Date: Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026

Time: 8:40–9:05 a.m. PDT

Location: 2026 OCP Global Summit, San Jose Convention Center, Room 210CG, San Jose, Calif.

For additional information about the session, visit Americase International's event page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Who should attend this session?
A: Hyperscale and colocation operators, facilities and fire protection engineers, hardware OEMs, procurement and supply chain leaders, and anyone responsible for permitting, insuring or deploying energy storage at scale.

Q: Does the session cover only U.S. codes?
A: No. Panelists will address how NFPA 855, the National Fire Protection Association's standard for installing stationary energy storage systems, is widely adopted by U.S. jurisdictions but is not legally binding in markets such as Germany, Japan or Singapore, and how operators manage differing local requirements across the more than 15 countries profiled in the white paper's appendix.

Q: Do attendees need to read the OCP white paper beforehand?
A: No. The panel is designed to make the white paper's findings accessible without prior familiarity, and the session includes time for audience questions.

About Americase International

Americase International, parent company of Americase, HazMat Safety Consulting, and Fulcrum Testing, integrates containment engineering, dangerous goods regulatory strategy, and safety and performance validation to protect what is hazardous, what is valuable, and what has never been shipped before. Americase has designed and manufactured protective cases since 1985; HazMat Safety Consulting is led by former U.S. and international regulators who helped shape today's dangerous goods standards; and Fulcrum Testing provides lithium battery and product testing. Its conviction: containment, not just compliance. Based in Waxahachie, Texas, the company serves customers in electronics, aerospace, defense, data center, EV/automotive, energy storage, medical device and other industries. AmericaseInternational.com.

On-site media contact at OCP Global Summit (Oct. 12–15): Marina Malamis, Director of Marketing, 469-401-6950. Interviews available on request.

SOURCE Americase International