HazMat Safety Consulting promotes Mike Pagel to vice president

HazMat Safety Consulting has promoted battery safety specialist Mike Pagel to vice president, effective Oct. 22, 2026, as demand for lithium battery guidance rises across data centers, vehicles and consumer products. The move puts a former PHMSA regulator in a leadership role at a firm handling increasingly complex dangerous goods rules.

Why it matters: - Lithium battery use is expanding across data centers, vehicles and consumer products, raising the number of companies facing hazardous materials transport rules. - Global lithium-ion battery demand rose 29% in 2025 to nearly 1.6 terawatt-hours, while demand for battery energy storage systems grew 51%, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. - More manufacturers, shippers and data center operators now face complex compliance demands tied to fast-changing dangerous goods regulations.

What happened: - HazMat Safety Consulting, LLC promoted Mike Pagel to vice president, effective Oct. 22, 2026. - Pagel joined HazMat Safety Consulting in 2018 after working at the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration Hazardous Materials Information Center in Washington, D.C. - Pagel is based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. - The promotion comes as HazMat Safety Consulting positions itself to guide companies through shipping rules for lithium batteries and other dangerous goods.

The details: - Pagel will continue leading work on dangerous goods transport consulting and compliance support. - His work includes regulatory training, compliance audits, U.S. Department of Transportation special permit and approval support, standard operating procedure development and strategic consulting. - Pagel’s clients include organizations in healthcare, e-commerce, logistics, electric vehicles, packaging and consumer electronics. - He started his hazardous materials career in PHMSA’s Hazardous Materials Information Center in 2012. - Pagel contributed to the Open Compute Project white paper, Requirements for Energy Storage Systems Used in Data Centers, published in January 2026. - His contribution focused on dangerous goods transportation and regulatory compliance guidance for energy storage systems in AI and hyperscale data centers. - He also discussed those findings on a panel titled “The Compliance Gap: ESS Safety in the Age of AI Infrastructure” at the 2026 OCP Global Summit in San Jose earlier this month. - Pagel serves on the National Fire Protection Association 800 Battery Safety Code committee. - He participates in SAE International’s G-27 Lithium Battery Packaging Performance committee, plus J2950 and J3303 standards development work. - Pagel is available to comment on lithium battery transport and storage regulations and data center energy storage safety.

Between the lines: - The promotion signals HazMat Safety Consulting is leaning harder into battery and energy storage regulation as AI infrastructure and electrification increase demand for specialized compliance advice. - Pagel’s mix of federal regulatory background and industry-facing consulting gives the firm a leader with both rulemaking experience and practical transport expertise. - Ryan Paquet, president of HazMat Safety Consulting and a former PHMSA official, said Pagel’s leadership and understanding of complex regulatory concepts will be central as battery and energy storage requirements grow more complex.

What's next: - HazMat Safety Consulting is likely to keep expanding advisory work around lithium batteries, energy storage systems and other dangerous goods as regulations evolve. - Pagel is expected to help clients manage compliance before shipments are delayed or incidents occur. - The firm said it will continue serving organizations across aerospace, defense, energy, healthcare, technology and industrial markets.

The bottom line: - HazMat Safety Consulting is elevating a longtime battery safety specialist to meet rising demand for dangerous goods expertise in a rapidly expanding market.