Extinguishing Lithium-Ion Battery Liability With Green Packaging

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Despite the dangers, lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries are here to stay. How to safely transport, store and recycle these batteries that are used to power hand-held electronics, e-bikes, scooters and more was a hot topic at the recent Battery Show in Michigan.

www.eetimes.com/, Nov. 09, 2023 – 

Shipping Li-ion batteries can be hazardous. One of the biggest threats is battery explosion that leads to thermal runaway–a phenomenon in which the Li-ion cell enters an uncontrollable, self-heating state caused by extremely high temperatures, shaking or puncturing. The resulting flames are extremely difficult for firefighters to extinguish, so the fires usually have to smolder out on their own after many hours, emitting lethal fumes and gases.

To avoid potential loss of life or property damage from these fires, the first step is to use outer packaging made of durable, waterproof and cushioned, yet cost-effective and eco-friendly materials. Keep purchasing and shipping costs down with packaging that's also lightweight and reusable. Good options are UN-rated fiberboard containers and UN-rated wooden crating.

To ensure safety and avoid compliance issues, companies also need to adhere to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DoT) standards that make sure lithium cells and batteries shipments are properly packaged to be able to withstand normal transportation conditions.

The next step is to wrap these batteries in a protective material that can contain both fire and residual smoke. When our 25-year-old company was unable to find a suitable product, we developed PACT Thermo Shield, a lightweight, paper material with a moisture vapor application that prevents thermal runaway. However, if thermal runaway does occur, the wrap immediately cools the internal environment of the package–while limiting oxygen around the payload. Thermo Shield kits not only meet but exceed the proposed SAE G-27 standards for safety in shipping Li-ion batteries via land, sea and air.

An added concern is transporting batteries, as well as Li-ion powered devices that are damaged or recalled. With Thermo Shield technology, PACT received its special permit from the DoT to ship damaged Li-ion batteries safely and effectively, and many customers have been able to ship DDR and recyclable batteries at a lower cost.

Recently, the items containing Li-ion batteries that have ignited dangerous fires are electric bikes, scooters, hoverboards, unicycles and electric cars. To address this escalating issue, PACT has recently designed a sleeve, in which its specially-coated, fire-suppressant paper is wrapped around each battery cell to mitigate thermal runaway between them, thus serving as a heat and flame barrier.

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