Despite High-Profile Overheating Cases, Lithium-Ion Batteries 'Are Quite Safe,' Says UL

Despite communications from the Consumer Product Safety Commission this week on recalls of lithium-ion batteries and overheating concerns, lithium-ion batteries “are quite safe,” Sajeev Jesudas, president of safety certification organization UL Consumer, emailed us Wednesday. Reported failures are “less than one in 10 million,” said Jesudas, “an extremely low failure rate.” The CPSC expanded a recall for Panasonic batteries used in HP laptop PCs this week (see 1701240015). It also used visibility over the Samsung Note7 battery report (see 1701230048) to urge (see 1701240065) the CE industry “to modernize and improve the safety standards for lithium-ion batteries” and to “stay ahead of new power sources that will inevitably come along and replace these.” On whether UL is seeing more overheating cases as electronics become thinner, “Historically electronics have shrunk to be lighter and more portable," Jesudas said. We’ve seen TV tubes turn into flat-screen TVs, and radios become more compact," but independent, third-party safety testing "and sound manufacturing practices help ensure fewer failures in the marketplace.” Although emerging battery designs are being discussed, Jesudas said, none is positioned to replace lithium-ion near term. Lithium-ion batteries are “rechargeable, compact and long-lasting, making this technology a top choice for many manufacturers,” he said.