Packaging Materials and Design
1. Material and Strength: Sturdy outer packaging should be used, such as high-quality cartons or wooden boxes, capable of withstanding impacts and vibrations during transportation to prevent damage to the batteries.
2. Inner Packaging Protection: Batteries must be placed individually in completely sealed inner packaging, such as blister packs or cardboard, ensuring that each battery is protected. The inner packaging should prevent contact between the batteries and conductive materials to avoid short circuits.
3. Insulation and Isolation: For wired batteries, the wire ends must be properly handled with insulating materials. When multiple batteries are packaged together, insulating materials should be used to separate them to prevent contact that could lead to short circuits.
4. Leak-proofing and Explosion Prevention: The design of battery packaging should effectively prevent bursting under normal transport conditions and include effective measures to avoid external short circuits.
Packaging Test Standards
1. Drop Test: Batteries must pass a drop test from 1.2 meters. If lithium batteries are not installed with the device, and each package contains more than 24 battery cells or 12 batteries, a free fall drop test from 1.2 meters must also be conducted.
2. Stacking Test: Lithium-ion batteries UN3480 PI965 IB and lithium metal batteries UN3090 PI968 IB must withstand a stacking test of 3 meters for each package. Additionally, the standards for clauses such as PI966II, PI967I/II, PI969II, and PI970I/II have also included the requirement for a 3-meter stacking test standard.
Packaging Specifications and Weight
1. Size Requirements: Batteries with different capacities have different outer box size requirements. For example, for batteries under 99Wh, the minimum size for square cartons is 30*16*25cm, and for rectangular cartons, it is 48*24*17cm.
2. Weight Limit: The weight of a single package should generally be less than 35kg.
Marking and Labeling
1. Dangerous Goods Labels: The outer packaging must bear the Class 9 dangerous goods label and indicate the UN number, such as UN3480 (lithium-ion batteries), UN3481 (lithium-ion batteries contained in equipment), UN3090 (lithium metal batteries), and UN3091 (lithium metal batteries contained in equipment).
2. Battery Labels: The packaging should have a battery label that complies with aviation standards; the “Lithium Battery Label” has been renamed to “Battery Label,” and the “Class 9 Dangerous Goods Lithium Battery” label has been renamed to “Class 9 Dangerous Goods Lithium-Ion and Sodium-Ion Battery.”
3. Other Labels: If limited to cargo aircraft transport, an operational label stating “For Cargo Aircraft Only” must also be affixed.
Special Battery and Equipment Requirements
1. Batteries installed in equipment: The equipment should be secured to prevent movement during packaging, and the packaging method must avoid accidental activation during transport. The outer packaging should have waterproof capabilities or achieve waterproofing through the use of liners (such as plastic bags), unless the equipment itself has waterproof characteristics.
2. Sodium-ion batteries: New UN numbers and packaging instructions for sodium-ion batteries have been added, where UN3551 refers to sodium-ion batteries, and UN3552 refers to sodium-ion batteries installed in equipment or packaged together with the equipment.
Can a single battery weighing over 35kg be air shipped ?
Generally, most lithium batteries are packaged in UN cardboard boxes and UN wooden boxes, which can be arranged for air transport.
1. The weight of the battery has little impact on the air transport of lithium batteries; the key is that when goods are palletized and packed in wooden boxes, the height must be controlled to below 150cm and the length must be kept within 170cm. With complete documentation, it can be transported as regular hazardous goods, marked on the bill of lading as LITHIUM ION BATTERY.
2. If it exceeds the specified requirements and documentation is incomplete, we can also arrange air shipping through customized wooden boxes or other means. Please feel free to communicate with me regarding specific matters.
