Recall Spurs Assessment of Battery Safety Standards
December 12, 2006 // Published as a news service by IHS
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A widespread recall of laptop batteries in 2006 affected nearly 10 million products from five major manufacturers, when it was found that some batteries were causing notebook computers to overheat and, in some cases, cause fires.
Several standards developers are looking at possible solutions to help prevent manufacturing glitches and improve battery safety. Here are some of the efforts underway:
Batteries for Portable Computing
In November 2006, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) began efforts to build improved measures into its existing lithium ion standard.
Updates to IEEE 1625 - Standard for Rechargeable Batteries for Portable Computing will aim to improve the overall performance of laptop battery systems, making them more reliable and robust.
To do this, IEEE will look not only at aspects specific to the battery, but also more broadly at the laptop environment in which it is used.
The revised standard, for example, will address such elements as the electrical and mechanical construction of battery packs, cell chemistries and packaging.
According to the IEEE, it will also look to define methods for evaluating and verifying the quality and reliability of batteries, and to develop a compliance program to support this effort.
Lithium Ion Batteries
For its part, Underwriters Laboratories (UL) partnered with laptop and battery manufacturers on an upgrade to UL 1642 - Lithium Batteries, which it submitted to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for approval in September 2006.
As described in the proposed scope of the new standard, the requirements are specifically intended to reduce the risk of fire or explosion and resulting injury to persons. In support of this effort, three UL task groups are looking at ways to introduce relevant component requirements, production line testing specifications and lithium battery pack requirements into the standard.
UL also wants input from its lithium battery standards technical panel and standards subscribers on the potential harmonization of UL 1642 with related ANSI and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards. In addition to the update, UL also said it will increase the frequency of its audits of battery manufacturers and will take steps to enhance its auditor training program.
In a related effort, a battery working group within the Information Technology Industry Council (ITIC) culled and weaved company-specific standards from laptop makers into a single list of recommended requirements. This harmonized list, the ITIC group said, will be shared with UL as input into the 1642 update. Ultimately, the ITIC endeavor seeks to resolve varied and inconsistent protocols among laptop manufacturers.
The ANSI C18 Accredited Standards Committee has long been involved in standards development related to lithium ion batteries. The group met recently to identify ways that its current standard, ANSI C18 - 2M - Part 2 for Portable Rechargeable Cells and Batteries - Safety Standard, could be updated to contribute to a solution.
According to the National Electrical Manufacturer's Association (NEMA), the ANSI subcommittee on safety standards - C18-5 - has been watching developments surrounding the recent lithium ion battery recalls and is positioning itself to revise its battery safety standard once there is a full technical understanding of the purported defect.
Quality Control Standard for Testing Cells
A new effort within the Association Connecting Electronics Industries (IPC) is seeking to develop a quality control standard for testing cells. IPC stepped into the lithium ion field in August 2006, with a newly formed group led by IPC's established original equipment manufacturer (OEM) Critical Components Committee.
Members of the IPC Lithium Ion Battery Subcommittee, representing major laptop manufacturers, as well as independent research and development firms in the portable power industry, met in October 2006 to lay the groundwork for its standard, which will cover process requirements, quality control and assurance for lithium ion battery cells.
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The IPC standard is expected to establish a uniform test method for identifying battery cells that have too many contaminants in the electrolyte. These tests are currently handled differently by each vendor.
Source: American National Standards Institute (ANSI).