VR and AR for BESS Commissioning: Reducing Mistakes Before Grid Connection

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Blog post: 15/09/2026 1:52 pm

Author: Spark Team

VR and AR for BESS Commissioning: Reducing Mistakes Before Grid Connection

Commissioning a Battery Energy Storage System involves multiple assets, teams and procedural dependencies. Bespoke VR can allow commissioning personnel to rehearse the sequence before work starts, while AR can provide asset-specific information and guided checks at the physical installation.

Why BESS Commissioning Creates a Training Challenge

Commissioning is the point where equipment that may have been designed, manufactured and installed by different organisations has to operate as a functioning system.

For a grid-scale battery project, that can involve battery containers, Battery Management Systems, Power Conversion Systems, transformers, switchgear, communications, protection systems and interfaces with the wider electricity network.

Errors discovered late in this process can create additional troubleshooting, repeated inspections and delays.

The opportunity for immersive technology is therefore straightforward: allow teams to understand and practise the commissioning process before the live commissioning window begins.

Rehearsing Commissioning in VR

A bespoke VR model can recreate the facility at an appropriate level of detail and convert the client's commissioning procedures into interactive tasks.

A trainee could move through a simulated commissioning sequence covering:

1. site and equipment identification;

2. pre-energisation inspections;

3. container and cabinet checks;

4. communications verification;

5. auxiliary-system checks;

6. PCS and inverter preparation;

7. switchgear states;

8. alarm verification;

9. simulated energisation stages;

10. handover and documentation.

The precise workflow would be derived from the client's approved documentation rather than from a generic BESS process.

Finding Sequence Errors Before the Real Commissioning Window

One of the strongest uses of VR is procedural rehearsal.

The learner can encounter scenarios such as:

• the wrong container being selected;

• an alarm remaining active;

• a communication link failing;

• equipment being found in an unexpected state;

• a required check being missed;

• another team not having completed a prerequisite task.

The objective is not to simulate every conceivable engineering fault. It is to train personnel to stop, assess the information available and follow the approved process rather than improvising.

Training Before Equipment Is Available

There is another practical advantage.

A digital training environment can potentially be developed from engineering information before the finished installation is fully operational.

That creates an opportunity to familiarise operators with a forthcoming asset while construction and commissioning are still progressing.

Personnel can learn where equipment will be situated and understand the intended workflow without needing unrestricted access to the construction site.

AR Checklists During Physical Commissioning

Once personnel are onsite, AR can move procedural information closer to the equipment itself.

An engineer could select or identify an asset and access the correct commissioning information for that component.

A bespoke implementation might provide:

• asset identification;

• commissioning checklist stages;

• reference diagrams;

• installation information;

• expected equipment status;

• photographic evidence capture;

• issue reporting;

• remote expert communication.

This concept aligns with earlier US Department of Energy-supported development programmes exploring AR and technology-assisted approaches for field maintenance, training and remote collaboration.

Preventing the Wrong Information Reaching the Wrong Asset

AR becomes particularly valuable when the system is properly linked to asset identity.

Instead of asking an engineer to search a large document library, a digital interface can be designed to surface the information associated with the equipment they are inspecting.

For multi-container BESS projects, that could reduce confusion between similar-looking assets or different versions of documentation.

Any such solution must, of course, respect the client's document-control, cyber-security and authorisation requirements.

Creating a Digital Record of Commissioning Knowledge

An immersive commissioning platform can also preserve experience.

Issues discovered during commissioning can inform future training scenarios. A procedure that repeatedly causes confusion can be redesigned or emphasised within the simulation.

VR training therefore becomes more valuable over time when connected to operational learning rather than treated as a one-off visualisation.

The Commercial Benefit

The financial argument is not that VR eliminates engineers or commissioning specialists.

It enables valuable site time to be focused on the real equipment.

Teams can arrive with greater knowledge of:

• the layout;

• their responsibilities;

• equipment names;

• procedure sequences;

• known decision points;

• handover expectations.

That creates the possibility of reducing avoidable mistakes, repetitive familiarisation and unnecessary disruption during a critical project stage.

Spark's Bespoke Approach

Spark only develops bespoke immersive solutions.

A BESS commissioning application would therefore be based on the client's actual equipment, workflow, documentation and desired learning outcomes.

The experience could range from simplified procedural training to a high-fidelity interactive digital twin incorporating selected system information.

Conclusion

Commissioning is where design intent becomes operational reality. Providing personnel with the opportunity to rehearse that transition beforehand can improve preparedness.

VR can train the commissioning sequence before engineers enter the live environment. AR can then place approved information closer to equipment during physical inspections and checks.

If you are developing or commissioning a grid-scale Battery Energy Storage System and want to explore bespoke immersive training, contact Spark Emerging Technologies.

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