Packaging standard for lithium batteries to slip

The first draft of a performance-based packaging standard for lithium-ion batteries will not be ready by November and will likely slip into early 2017, an ALPA committee member said Wednesday. The standard, if ultimately approved by ICAO, will set the pass/fail criteria for how packaging materials respond to certain failures of the batteries, primarily the thermal runaway conditions that cause lithium-ion battery fires to propagate between adjacent cells and batteries. The idea is that the packaging will contain high temperatures, fragments and hazardous gases. The standards are being developed by a group of 150 govt and industry representatives. An approved packaging standard in theory would allow passenger airlines to restart shipments of lithium ion batteries in bulk in the cargo hold. <br/>