Nicholas Petrakis a Licensed Professional Engineer in the State of New York and graduate of Stony Brook University with a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering. As the formal Assistant Deputy Director for the New York City Fire Department’s (FDNY) Sustainability Unit, he was instrumental in the review of Battery Energy Storage Systems (ESS) within NYC. He has been a voting member (or an authorized representative of one) on the UL standards that govern these systems (UL 1973, UL 1741, UL 9540 and UL 9540A) and has conducted extensive research on Battery ESS technologies and failure modes. He was one of the subject matter experts that developed and implemented an FDNY Rule to govern the safe installation of Battery ESS throughout NYC. He is currently a Senior Consultant and Battery Energy Storage System Expert for Energy Safety Response Group (ESRG).