OEM, regulatory, materials science and emergency response experts weigh in on battery safety at The Battery Show North America in Detroit, Oct. 14.
Key Facts
- What: Americase International leads a panel on containing thermal runaway in lithium batteries during transport and storage, based on the view that as battery energy density climbs, compliant is not necessarily contained.
- When and where: Wednesday, October 14, 2026, 1:00–1:45 p.m. EDT, at Huntington Place in Detroit, during The Battery Show North America (October 12–15).
- Who: Moderator John Redman (COO, Americase International); panelists Chris Egloff (Americase International), Ryan Paquet (HazMat Safety Consulting, an Americase International company), Michael Colaianne (General Motors), Jun Shin (Power-Metric) and Dalan Zartman (Energy Security Agency).
- Booth: Americase International, Booth 3508, October 12–15.
WAXAHACHIE, Texas – October 12, 2026 – As lithium battery energy density climbs and deployment scales across electric vehicles, stationary storage and industrial applications, meeting a safety standard does not guarantee that a thermal runaway event stays contained. Americase International will address that challenge in a panel at The Battery Show North America on October 14 in Detroit.
The session, “Engineering Containment for the Next Generation of Batteries: Mitigating Thermal Runaway in Transport and Storage,” takes place Wednesday, October 14, at Huntington Place during the show’s October 12–15 run. Americase International Chief Operating Officer John Redman will moderate, joined by Chief Revenue Officer Chris Egloff and Ryan Paquet, president of HazMat Safety Consulting, an Americase International company, along with experts from General Motors, Power-Metric and Energy Security Agency.
The panel will explore what “safe and compliant” actually requires today and how those expectations continue to change as the industry scales.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the volumetric energy density of lithium-ion battery packs rose more than eightfold between 2008 and 2020, from 55 to 450 watt-hours per liter. Researchers report a persistent trade-off between energy density and safety in lithium-ion batteries.
“Compliant is not necessarily contained,” said John Redman, COO of Americase International. “Containment has to keep pace with the chemistry. Engineers, OEMs, regulatory experts, and first responders each see a different piece of the thermal runaway problem, and this panel puts those perspectives on one stage.”
The 45-minute session, part of the show’s Battery Chemistry, Materials & Cell Innovation track and Battery Safety theme, will cover thermal runaway behavior across chemistries and formats, the materials science behind effective transport and storage design, how containment engineering, regulatory compliance and emergency response intersect, and where containment standards and best practices are headed next.
Americase International will also showcase its battery transport and storage solutions at Booth 3508 throughout the four-day event, October 12–15.
Moderator and Panelists
- John Redman (Moderator), COO, Americase International — Redman oversees operations across Americase International’s containment, testing, and regulatory compliance businesses, including HazMat Safety Consulting, Americase, and Fulcrum Testing.
- Chris Egloff, Chief Revenue Officer, Americase International — Egloff works with OEMs, logistics providers, and battery manufacturers to address real world battery transport and storage challenges. Egloff is a co-author of Mastering Lithium-Ion Battery Safety.
- Michael Colaianne, Senior Manager of Dangerous Goods Transportation, General Motors — Colaianne leads General Motors’ global dangerous goods transportation compliance program across manufacturing and pre-production sites. He is a Certified Dangerous Goods Professional (CDGP) through the Institute of Hazardous Materials Management (IHMM) and a subject-matter expert in multimodal lithium battery transportation.
- Ryan Paquet, President, HazMat Safety Consulting, an Americase International company — A former PHMSA official with more than 20 years of experience in hazardous materials transportation safety, Paquet is also co-author of Mastering Lithium-Ion Battery Safety.
- Jun Shin, Executive Partner, Power-Metric — Shin focuses on the materials science and engineering side of battery safety and performance.
- Dalan Zartman, CEO, Energy Security Agency — Zartman brings hands-on expertise in emergency response, risk mitigation and incident command for battery-related hazards.
Session Details
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Session | Engineering Containment for the Next Generation of Batteries: Mitigating Thermal Runaway in Transport and Storage |
| Moderator | John Redman, COO, Americase International |
| Panelists | Chris Egloff, Michael Colaianne, Ryan Paquet, Jun Shin and Dalan Zartman |
| Date | Wednesday, October 14, 2026 |
| Time | 1:00–1:45 p.m. EDT |
| Location | Huntington Place, 1 Washington Blvd., Detroit, Michigan |
| Booth | Americase International, Booth 3508, October 12–15 |
For additional information, visit Americase International’s event page or the session listing on The Battery Show North America planner.
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where is the session?
Wednesday, October 14, 2026, from 1:00 to 1:45 p.m. EDT at Huntington Place, 1 Washington Blvd., Detroit, Michigan, during The Battery Show North America (October 12–15, 2026).
What is thermal runaway in lithium batteries?
Thermal runaway is a condition in which a battery cell overheats and generates heat faster than it can release it, which can lead to fire, gas venting, and spread to neighboring cells. Containment engineering aims to limit that spread during transport and storage.
Who should attend this session?
Battery and pack design engineers, EHS and safety officers, hazmat compliance and logistics professionals, regulatory affairs teams, and emergency response personnel working across the battery and EV supply chain.
What makes this panel different from a typical technical session?
It combines perspectives that rarely share a stage, including containment engineering, OEM compliance, regulatory policy, materials science, and front-line emergency response, to give a full picture of what containment requires in practice.
Where can attendees find Americase International at the show?
Americase International will be at Booth 3508 all four days of the show, where attendees can continue the conversation on battery containment and see the containment and storage solutions discussed on stage.
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.
Media Contact
Becca Cooper, PR Lead
303-917-9888
press@americaseinternational.com