All presentation of the ExtraEnergy Lithium Battery Seminar are now online. At the event in Karlstein, Germany, on November 15, 2005 the safety of Lithium batteries and the UN transport regulations for dangerous goods were discussed. Yes, Lithium batteries for LEV’s are dangerous goods but there are exceptions!
 

 
On November 15, 2005, ExtraEnergy hosted a seminar on the current top issue of the LEV industry: Lithium batteries. The morning session of the one-day event was dedicated to the status of the battery market, technology and development under the aspects of safety. In the afternoon session experts explained the UN transport regulations for Lithium batteries. A panel discussion and an open-end dinner get-together left room for questions, discussion and exchange of know-how.

Thank you to the co-organizers of the congress ZIV (German Two-wheeler Industry Association) and BMZ (Batterien-Montage-Zentrum). The seminar was held at the BMZ facility in Karlstein near Frankfurt, Germany. Here, the ExtraEnergy laboratory for the battery safety test is currently located and tours were offered through the laboratory as well as through the BMZ battery assembly factory during lunch break. An exhibition of safety tested battery samples in the seminar rooms also added to the topic.

Dangerous Goods? – Yes!
Now experts have confirmed what the LEV industry was puzzled by: Yes, Lithium batteries with the capacities we need for light electric vehicles are dangerous goods. This means, they have to pass eight UN safety tests to conform to UN standards and be permitted for vehicle application. For commercial shippment of such batteries, a long list of requirements has to be complied with. It starts with the correct package with UN code, paperwork, warning stickers according to UN standards and ends with qualified staff at all ends of the shipping chain (sender, carrier, recipient).

Damaged Lithium batteries have to be shipped by the same standards, for example from a dealer back to the manufacturer.

Dangerous Goods? – No!
If a Lithium battery is built into a vehicle and shipped together with the vehicle it is not regarded as dangerous good. In this case it is enough to put a warning sticker says dangerous goods consultant Bernd Hilke.

End-customers are generally excluded from any dangerous goods regulations since they are shipping a damaged battery, for example, on a non-commercial purpose.

No Way around Lithium Batteries
The seminar increased the awareness of the industry leaders that Lithium batteries and transport regulations are important for future business. To tackle the dangerous goods topic has become a MUST for the industry since there is no other technology that can replace Lithium batteries in the near future. They are potentially the cheapest batteries with the longest life, the lowest weight and the highest range.

On the one hand, numerous pictures of exploding batteries demonstrated the dangers of Lithium batteries. On the other hand discussions revealed that once the hurdle of UN safety and transport requirements is taken, the process becomes a matter of daily routine. To get to this stage, participants suggested to cooperate with other industries that deal with dangerous goods on a grand scale. In the power tool industry the shift towards Lithium batteries is happening right now and similar capacities are used. Fireworks are also dangerous goods with one-way transport.

As Hannes Neupert of ExtraEnergy mentioned in his speech, numerous battery safety tests have shown that Lithium batteries are often safer than Nickel-Cadmium batteries. This allows to conclude, that the UN regulations are not based on todays state of the art technology. In order to change the rules in five years, lobbying has to be started today. The ways of bureaucracy, that mainly lead through the authorities in Geneva in Switzerland, are long.

Meanwhile Mr. Siegfried Neuberger of the German Two-wheeler Industry Association (Deutscher Zweirad Industrieverband) and co-initiator of the seminar will coordinate a working group to tackle the problems of transportation of Lithium batteries in the two-wheeler industry.


Seminar Agenda and Lectures
Lectures were given in English and are available for download below.

Morning Session
Key Topic: Technology, Safety, and Advantages of Lithium Batteries

Battery World Market Analysis
Sven Bauer
President of BMZ Batterien-Montage-Zentrum GmbH
PDF download (English/German, 256KB)
Summary

Batteries for LEVs – Status and Future Perspectives
Hannes Neupert
President of ExtraEnergy
PDF download (English, 9.2MB)
Summary

GAIA Li-Ion Batteries: Evolution or Revolution?
Tim Schäfer
Leader Purchase/Logistics, Project Coordination at GAIA Akkumulatorenwerke GmbH
PDF download (English, 3.3MB)
Summary

Saphon “Safety – Built In”
Alastair Johnston
EMEA Sales Director at Valence Technology Inc.
PDF download (English, 3.3MB)
Summary

Safety Improvements based on Raw Materials and Ceramic Separators
Dr.-Ing. Volker D. Hennige
Application Technology Manager at Degussa AG
PDF download (English, 6MB)
Summary

ENAX – Empower Progress
Jan-Steffen Lang
Sales and Marketing at ENAX Europe Representation
PDF download (English, 1.3MB)
Summary

Flexible Module based on Lithium Battery Pack Solutions
Dr. Youngjoon Shin
Senior Research Scentist Battery R&D at LG Chem.
PDF download (English, 2MB)
Summary

Afternoon Session:
Key Topic: UN Transport Regulations for Lithium Batteries

Transport of Lithium Batteries
Dipl.-Phys. Dr. Thomas Dittrich
Manager Application Engeneering at Sonnenschein Lithium GmbH
PDF download (English, 356KB)
Summary

UN Tranport Regulations and Safety Tests
Sven Bauer
President of BMZ Batterien-Montage-Zentrum GmbH
PDF download (English/German,  2MB)
Summary

Transportation Regulations UN 3090/UN 3091 for Lithium Batteries
Bernd Hilke
a r s Gefahrgutberatung (dangerous goods consulting)
PDF download (German, 1.1MB)
Summary

Logistic Chain for Dangerous Goods – Examples, Players, Solutions
Tim Schäfer
Leader Purchase/Logistics, Project Coordination at GAIA Akkumulatorenwerke GmbH
PDF download (English/German, 13.6MB)
Summary


Panel Discussion
moderated by Hannes Neupert, ExtraEnergy

Participants:
• Dipl.-Phys. Dr. Thomas Dittrich, Sonnenschein
  Lithium GmbH
• Tim Schäfer, GAIA Akkumulatorenwerke GmbH
• Bernd Hilke, a r s Gefahrgutberatung (dangerous   goods consulting)
• Sven Bauer, BMZ Batterien-Montage-Zentrum GmbH
• Alastair Johnston, Valence Technology Inc.
• Siegfried Neuberger, ZIV Zweirad-Industrie-Verband
  (German Two-wheeler Industry Association)

Dinner Get-Together


Seminar Proceedings
All presentations are also available in print form

The Seminar day in picutres



Last updated: January 15, 2007