This article presents the international battery safety standards, separated by battery categories.
Battery safety standards are developed to evaluate the design and manufacturing of a cell, battery, battery system or product device as a single entity or a combination for regulatory compliance and certification. During the evaluation process, various components are tested to ensure the product’s fail-safe operation and minimize the user’s risk of injuring. If a product is not evaluated and certified, it cannot be sold to consumers.
Each country has its own battery safety standards or has adopted standards from other countries. Although some degree of harmonization within the battery compliance world exists, many countries still have their own standards or harmonized standards with IEC standards. The following few sections present some of the most important battery safety standards and their associated country.
Primary battery safety standards
Some standards set up the safety requirements only for primary batteries.
- IEC 60086 (worldwide) – Primary batteries. General & Specifications.
- EN 60086-4:2000 (European Union, based on the IEC 60068-4:2000) – Primary batteries. Safety standard for lithium batteries.
- ANSI C18.1M and ANSI C18.3M (USA) – Portable primary cells and batteries. General & Specifications.
- BS 2G 239:1992 (UK) – Specification for primary active lithium batteries for use in aircraft.
- ST/SG/AC.10/27/Add.2 (United Nations) – Recommendations on the transport of dangerous goods. Manual of tests and criteria.
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Secondary battery safety standards
The list below presents standards applicable only to secondary batteries.
- IEC 62133 (worldwide) – Secondary cells & batteries containing alkaline or other non-acid electrolytes. Safety requirements for lithium and nickel systems.
- IEEE 1625 and IEEE 1725 (worldwide) – Rechargeable batteries for multicell mobile computing devices and mobile phones.
- EN 62133 (European Union, based on the IEC 62133)
- UL 1642 and UL 2054 (North America) – Lithium batteries / Household and commercial batteries.
- ANSI C18 and ANSI 18.2 (USA) – Portable rechargeable battery specifications. General & Specifications.
- UN/DOT 38.3 (United Nations and USA) – UN manual of tests and criteria. Lithium battery testing requirements.
- GB 31241:2014 (China) – Lithium-ion cells and batteries in portable devices. Safety requirements.
- IS 16046 (India, based on the IEC 62133)
- KC 62133 (South Korea, based on the IEC 62133)
- GOST 62133:2004 (Russia, based on the IEC 62133)
- JIS C8714 (Japan) – Safety tests for portable lithium-ion secondary cells & batteries.
- CNS 15364:2010 and CNS 14857-2 (Taiwan, harmonized with IEC 62133) – Safety of secondary lithium-ion battery cells and packs.
