A fire breaks out in the Tesla Megapack unit in Australia during testing

SYDNEY, July 30 (Reuters) – A fire broke out in a Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) Megapack battery unit in Australia on Friday during testing of one of the world’s largest energy storage projects, run by French company Neoen SA (NEOEN.PA), firefighters said.

The fire erupted during an initial trial run of the large-scale energy project known as the Victorian Big Battery near Melbourne on Friday morning, authorities said, adding that no one was injured and the facility had been evacuated.

“Neoen and Tesla are working closely with the emergency services on site to manage the situation,” Neoen CEO Louis de Sambucy said in a statement.

The site had been disconnected from the grid and “there will be no impact on the electricity supply,” de Sambucy added.

The statement did not give the cause of the fire.

Fire Rescue Victoria said crews equipped with breathing apparatus were working to prevent the blaze from spreading from the 13-ton battery to neighboring batteries at the site.

A fire department science officer was carrying out atmospheric surveillance, he added, although he said there was no threat to the community.

A spokesperson for Tesla in Australia could not be contacted immediately.

The full cost of the project was not disclosed, but Neoen won A $ 160 million ($ 118 million) in cheap funding from the Australian government earlier this year to help fund the large battery designed to produce 450 megawatt hours. (MWh) of electricity.

Tesla has provided its Megapack technology for the project, which is expected to start operating in time for the Australian summer, which begins in December.

($ 1 = 1.3552 Australian dollars)

Reporting by Byron Kaye; Editing by Sonali Paul

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