Requirements for lithium batteries and products that are shipped with lithium batteries

How to know if your product contains a lithium battery

Types of lithium batteries

Regulation of lithium-ion batteries

United Nations test summary requirement

Lithium batteries are widely used and characterized by the following:

• Long life
• No memory effect (they don’t lose their maximum energy capacity)
• Slow loss of charge when not in use

However, lithium batteries can also be dangerous. If damaged, dropped, crushed, or short-circuited, they can release dangerous amounts of heat and may ignite. They are also dangerous when exposed to heat. For these reasons, lithium batteries are always subject to specific transportation requirements.

All battery-related information must be provided for your product when you create a listing or convert that listing. If the battery information that you provide is incomplete, inaccurate, or otherwise conflicting, your product may be blocked for sale. You must also upload a battery exemption sheet on Manage dangerous goods classification.

Important: Lithium battery products may be subject to requirements beyond those for dangerous goods. For a list of potentially affected products, go to Product compliance page.

How to know if your product contains a lithium battery

Products don’t have a specific sticker or symbol that indicates the presence of lithium batteries. But you can easily recognize the batteries in a few ways:

• Look at the battery itself. The composition is usually printed on the battery.
• Read manufacturer documentation such as the product manual. You can also contact the supplier to learn more about your product.

Types of lithium batteries

There are many different types of lithium batteries. The three main types are described here.

Lithium-ion batteries

Lithium-ion batteries (Li-ion or LIB batteries) have lithium compounds as the electrode material, and are rechargeable. Li-ion batteries are widely used in portable electronic products such as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, MP3 players, and cameras.

Lithium metal batteries

Lithium metal batteries have lithium metal as an anode and are generally not rechargeable. They come in different shapes and forms, including the flat, round batteries used in watches. They are also commonly used in products such as calculators or flashlights.

Lithium-ion polymer batteries

Lithium-ion polymer batteries, often called lithium polymer batteries (Li-poly, Li-Pol, LIP, PLI or LiP) are rechargeable batteries usually composed of several identical secondary cells in parallel.

They are used in some portable electronic products and fall under the family of lithium-ion batteries.

Regulation of lithium-ion batteries

The watt-hour information is generally printed on the battery itself, on its packaging, or in the manufacturer’s documentation.

In cases where the watt-hour is not printed, it can be calculated from the battery voltage (V) and amp-hour (Ah) rating, also commonly printed on the battery, the outer packaging, or in the manufacturer’s documentation. The voltage to be used when calculating watt-hours is the nominal voltage of the battery (commonly printed as simply “voltage”), not to be confused with the input voltage, output voltage, or maximum charging voltage.

United Nations test summary requirement

As of January 1, 2020, UN 38.3 requires lithium battery manufacturers and distributors to provide a document known as a lithium battery test summary upon request. This requirement will be enforced via country-specific regulations.

When manufactured, all lithium batteries and lithium battery products must undergo a series of standardized tests to confirm their safety for use and transport. This new documentation summarizes those testing requirements.

To comply with this regulation, AlphaDiscounters requires all sellers to upload a test summary at ASIN setup.

For more information, download lithium battery guidance from the International Air Transport Association (English only).