Mike Pagel Named Vice President of HazMat Safety Consulting

HSC’s Senior Consultant brings battery safety and regulatory expertise across data centers, vehicles and consumer products to the firm’s leadership team

WAXAHACHIE, TX, UNITED STATES, October 23, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — HazMat Safety Consulting, LLC, a hazardous materials regulatory consulting firm and subsidiary of Americase International, has promoted Mike Pagel to vice president, effective October 22, 2026. Pagel, previously with Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) Hazardous Materials Information Center in Washington, D.C., joined HazMat Safety Consulting in 2018.

In his new role, Pagel will continue to lead HazMat Safety Consulting into the future as the pre-eminent dangerous goods transport consulting firm and help companies keep pace with fast-changing rules for shipping lithium batteries and other dangerous goods. He is based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The promotion comes as lithium battery use accelerates across industries. Global lithium-ion battery demand rose 29% in 2025 to nearly 1.6 terawatt-hours, and demand for battery energy storage systems grew 51%, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. Because lithium batteries are regulated as hazardous materials in transport, that growth is putting more manufacturers, shippers and data center operators under complex and evolving compliance requirements.

“Batteries and energy storage systems are moving into data centers, vehicles and consumer products faster than the regulations governing them are being written. Companies can’t afford to treat dangerous goods compliance as a checkbox. My job is to help clients understand not just what the rules say, but why they say it, so they can make sound decisions before a shipment is stopped or an incident happens,” said Pagel.

“I have learned so much from Mike in my time at HazMat Safety Consulting, his understanding of complex regulatory concepts and command of a room is truly impressive, we look forward to his leadership and vision into the future!” said Ryan Paquet, President of HazMat Safety Consulting and former director of PHMSA’s Approvals and Permits Division. “As battery and energy storage requirements grow more complex, his leadership will be central to how we serve clients for years to come.”

Starting his hazardous materials career in PHMSA’s Hazardous Materials Information Center (HMIC) in 2012, Pagel built his regulatory understanding from the ground up. At HazMat Safety Consulting, Mike helps organizations strengthen their dangerous goods programs through regulatory training, compliance audits, U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) special permit and approval support, standard operating procedure development and strategic consulting. His clients span healthcare, e-commerce, logistics, electric vehicles, packaging and consumer electronics.

Pagel is a contributing author of the Open Compute Project (OCP) white paper, Requirements for Energy Storage Systems Used in Data Centers, published in January 2026. He contributed dangerous goods transportation and regulatory compliance expertise to the paper’s guidance on the safe deployment and lifecycle management of energy storage systems in AI and hyperscale data centers. He discussed those findings as a panelist on “The Compliance Gap: ESS Safety in the Age of AI Infrastructure” at the 2026 OCP Global Summit in San Jose earlier this month.

Pagel also serves on the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 800 Battery Safety Code committee. He participates in SAE International’s G-27 Lithium Battery Packaging Performance committee, and J2950 Shipping Transport and Handling of Automotive-Type Battery System – Lithium Ion and J3303 Lithium and Lithium-Ion Cell and Battery Containment Performance Recommended Practice standards development work.

Pagel is available to comment on lithium battery transport and storage regulations, and data center energy storage safety.

About HazMat Safety Consulting

HazMat Safety Consulting, a subsidiary of Americase International, provides dangerous goods regulatory, compliance and safety consulting across the product and logistics lifecycle. Its consultants include former regulatory leaders and technical experts with experience at PHMSA and in international dangerous goods rulemaking, helping organizations navigate DOT, ICAO, IATA, IMDG and other dangerous goods requirements.
HazMat Safety Consulting serves organizations across aerospace, defense, energy, healthcare, technology and industrial markets, providing regulatory strategy, compliance assessments, training, emergency response planning and ongoing regulatory guidance. Services span regulatory strategy and gap analysis; classification, packaging, marking, labeling and documentation; training and certification; emergency response planning; and safety management system development. Learn more on www.hazmatsafety.com

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. www.AmericaseInternational.com.

Becca Cooper
PR Lead
press@americaseinternational.com
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