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Scientists Confirm Metal Fallout in Elkhorn Slough from World’s Largest Battery Storage Fire
Scientists from San José State University’s Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (MLML) have confirmed that fallout from the fire at the Vistra Energy battery facility at the Moss Landing Power Plant in January of 2025 left a layer of toxic chemicals in Elkhorn Slough. Their findings were recently published in a report titled, "Coastal wetland deposition of cathode metals from the world’s largest lithium-ion battery fire," published in Nature Scientific Reports.
San Jose State Issued the following press release on December 1, 2025:
MOSS LANDING, Calif. — A new published study from San José State University’s Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (MLML) shows that the 2025 fire at the world’s largest battery storage facility left a thin but widespread layer of toxic metals across the wetlands of Elkhorn Slough. The findings, released today in Nature Scientific Reports, provide the first real-world evidence of metal fallout from a grid-scale battery fire.
MLML scientists were able to collect detailed soil data two years before the fire allowing them to directly compare pre- and post-fire conditions. Rapid field surveys detected elevated nickel, cobalt and manganese forming a patchy surface layer only millimeters thick. Surface concentrations dropped quickly after rain and tides washed the metal-rich dust off the marsh platform. However, some of the material could have moved into other parts of the estuary and begun interacting with plants and animals.
“Because we already had baseline data and could respond immediately, we were able to spot a very thin layer of battery-related metals that traditional sampling would have completely missed,” said Ivano Aiello, lead author, professor of geological oceanography and chair of MLML. “Our field readings were later confirmed in the lab, and we are now tracking how these metals move through different habitats and how they may interact with organisms in the estuary.”
MLML and the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve continue to monitor the estuary to understand the longer-term pathways and ecological implications of these battery-derived metals.
SJSU press release: https://blogs.sjsu.edu/newsroom/2025/moss-landing-marine-laboratories-scientists-confirm-metal-fallout-in-elkhorn-slough-from-worlds-largest-battery-storage-fire/
Photo: Moss Landing Marine Laboratories is home to marine research scientists whose research contributed to a published study about the impact of a 2025 battery fire. Credit: Robert C. Bain.
MOSS LANDING, Calif. — A new published study from San José State University’s Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (MLML) shows that the 2025 fire at the world’s largest battery storage facility left a thin but widespread layer of toxic metals across the wetlands of Elkhorn Slough. The findings, released today in Nature Scientific Reports, provide the first real-world evidence of metal fallout from a grid-scale battery fire.
MLML scientists were able to collect detailed soil data two years before the fire allowing them to directly compare pre- and post-fire conditions. Rapid field surveys detected elevated nickel, cobalt and manganese forming a patchy surface layer only millimeters thick. Surface concentrations dropped quickly after rain and tides washed the metal-rich dust off the marsh platform. However, some of the material could have moved into other parts of the estuary and begun interacting with plants and animals.
“Because we already had baseline data and could respond immediately, we were able to spot a very thin layer of battery-related metals that traditional sampling would have completely missed,” said Ivano Aiello, lead author, professor of geological oceanography and chair of MLML. “Our field readings were later confirmed in the lab, and we are now tracking how these metals move through different habitats and how they may interact with organisms in the estuary.”
MLML and the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve continue to monitor the estuary to understand the longer-term pathways and ecological implications of these battery-derived metals.
SJSU press release: https://blogs.sjsu.edu/newsroom/2025/moss-landing-marine-laboratories-scientists-confirm-metal-fallout-in-elkhorn-slough-from-worlds-largest-battery-storage-fire/
Photo: Moss Landing Marine Laboratories is home to marine research scientists whose research contributed to a published study about the impact of a 2025 battery fire. Credit: Robert C. Bain.
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