Port of Long Beach
Enabled safe battery energy storage at one of the nation’s busiest ports
Summary
The Port of Long Beach moves roughly $300 billion in cargo a year across one of the busiest container gateways in the country. Under its 2023 ZEERO (Zero Emissions Energy Resilient Operations) policy, the Port is working toward the electrified cargo-handling equipment, zero-emission drayage, expanded shore power, and large-scale renewables including the 400-acre Pier Wind offshore wind staging facility. All of it depends on energy infrastructure that is resilient and flexible.
Battery energy storage systems (BESS) is central to that build-out. Safety, siting, and coordination determine whether it works – and in a dense, marine, and seismically active working port, none of the three has an off-the-shelf answer. Optony, as a subconsultant to ICF Incorporated, was engaged to produce the Port’s Battery Energy Storage System Siting White Paper: a technical reference covering storage technologies, safety and permitting requirements, and siting constraints, plus a framework the Port can apply to proposals as they arrive.
Optony led the research, analysis, and technical writing, drawing on team experience in battery storage, microgrids, safety engineering, and port operations.
The Challenge
Long Beach is a hard place to put a battery. Salt air, humidity, and corrosion affect how enclosures must be built. Flood and seismic hazards drive structural decisions – in an active seismic zone, a BESS has to be evaluated as a high-risk structure. Land in the area is also scarce, so anything installed has to consider operations, traffic flow, emergency access, and separation distances from occupied buildings or hazardous cargo areas. Thermal runaway risk is declining industry-wide as codes and standards mature, but it remains a serious consideration at this density.
The Port did not have a consolidated technical resource for evaluating the growing number of BESS proposals brought forward by tenants, utilities, and developers. Port staff needed to screen projects, identify risks early, and coordinate with tenants, Southern California Edison, the Long Beach Fire Department, and state regulators, many of whom bring different technical backgrounds and priorities to the table. Layered on top: any project has to clear a Harbor Development Permit, CEQA review, fire and building approvals, and utility interconnection with Southern California Edison – a permit stack with multiple owners and unknown timelines.
2nd-largest
U.S. port by container throughput
$300B+
In annual cargo value supported
7-part
Framework for evaluating future BESS proposals
20+
Storage technologies assessed, including 7 lithium-ion chemistries
Our Approach
Optony’s team spans energy storage, safety engineering, and market research. They addressed the question from three directions: technology capability, code requirements, and real-world deployments.
The technology review ran wider than Lithium-Ion. The team assessed roughly twenty storage technologies – electrochemical, thermal, mechanical, and chemical – with seven lithium-ion chemistries evaluated individually against safety, energy density, cycle life, cost, and commercial maturity. Those conclusions were informed by nine port installations, plus analogues from steel, cement, and data center operations.
Solutions Delivered
-
Battery Technology & Chemistry Assessment
-
Safety & Fire Risk Analysis
-
Siting & Regulatory Guidance
-
Case Study Research & Benchmarking
-
Microgrid Integration Analysis
-
Stakeholder Coordination Strategy
-
Proposal Evaluation Framework
The Solution
The Battery Energy Storage System Siting White Paper gives the Port a single reference as interest in storage grows across the harbor. It covers current and emerging chemistries, the permitting and safety requirements specific to a working port, and siting constraints shaped by marine and seismic conditions. The permitting section alone maps every approval a project has to clear – Harbor Development Permit, CEQA, fire and building review, utility interconnection – and answers the question staff were fielding without a good answer: how long does this take?
The white paper equips Port of Long Beach staff with the baseline technical knowledge needed to screen energy storage project proposals, identify risks early, and engage confidently with stakeholders. It also establishes a foundation for future work, including more detailed site-specific screening, scenario-based risk evaluations, and advanced assessment of thermal runaway hazards, as the Port continues to advance its ZEERO decarbonization and resilience goals.
01
Benchmarked today’s mainstream lithium-ion chemistries against emerging alternatives including vanadium flow, iron-air, and sodium-ion, scoring each on safety, energy density, cycle life, cost, and commercial readiness so the Port knows what to specify today and what to revisit in 5 years.
02
Turned NFPA 855 and UL 1973, 9540, and 9540A standards into siting rules the Port can actually apply, covering enclosure and construction types, setbacks, monitoring and suppression, and emergency response, all calibrated for a working waterfront with salt air and seismic loading.
03
Replaced a judgement call with an evaluation framework covering technology suitability and safety, siting, interconnection, construction and compliance, O&M, emergency response, and financial viability, giving Port staff a consistent, defensible method for reviewing future BESS proposals.
Results & Impact
Headquarters
Techmart Silicon Valley
5201 Great America Parkway
Santa Clara, California
95054
© 2026 Optony Inc.