Archives



Air, Forwarding, Freight News


Battery shipping rules set to change

[ December 19, 2024   //   ]

Forwarders moving batteries and battery-powered equipment need to be aware of coming alterations to regulations, says Scott Dimmock of Ascent Consultancy and Training. He told an episode of BIFALink TV on 19 December that not only are the rules being changed but so are the batteries themselves.

It is quite likely that rather than the Lithium-ion batteries found in many devices today will be progressively be increased by Sodium-ion types. Up to now, Sodium-ion batteries have been used mainly in large fixed installations because of their lower energy density. However, Sodium is much more abundant than Lithium and therefore cheaper, so it is possible that Sodium-ion batteries will start to find their way into smaller devices such as laptops and mobile phones.

The good news is that the dangerous goods rules for Sodium-ion batteries and devices are very similar to those for Lithium-ion batteries.

Another change, this time to the DG regulations themselves, is that vehicles powered by Lithium-ion batteries now have their own UN numbers; up to now, all battery-powered vehicles, including those powered by other types of battery such as lead-acid, have shared the same number. There is a grace period under which the old number can be used, but this will eventually expire. The grace period for airfreight is shorter than for seafreight, Scott Dimmock said. He added that ‘vehicles’ can also include items such as scooters and wheelchairs, as well as cars.

Finally, forwarders need to be aware of changes to the regulations for airfreighting batteries with or in equipment. The new rules state that batteries must not be charged to more than 30% capacity, and shippers will need to set up processes to check this. “We know that this will be a big headache for some distributors,” said Scott Dimmock.

Dangerous Goods – The Safe Movement Of Batteries

Tags: