OA2057. Assessment of the safety risks of refurbished lithium ion batteries in consumer products

Abstract Background The use of lithium ion batteries (LIB) in consumer products has increased in recent years. Another development is the upcoming of refurbishment of LIB, encouraged by sustainability goals and the right to repair. Besides the benefits, the disadvantage is that the electrolyte solution in the LIB is highly flammable. A number of incidents with LIB has been reported, with sometimes serious consequences. Methods The Office for Risk Assessment & Research (BuRO) of the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA), has conducted an assessment of the safety risks of refurbished LIB in consumer products. BuRO conducted literature research and had researched the quality of refurbished LIB and the Dutch market for refurbishment with the focus on LIB for light electric vehicles (LEV). Results The hazard of LIB is thermal runaway which can lead to a fire, an explosion and/or the emission of toxic gasses, including carbon monoxide and hydrogen fluoride. Based on emissions measured in experiments with LIB fires that are reported in scientific literature, it is concluded that the concentrations of gasses can be harmful to humans when a LIB of a LEV sets fire in a home environment. Investigation of refurbished LIB showed that due to modifications, the coherence of battery cells and battery management system can be disturbed. This is expected to increase the probability of thermal runaway compared to the original LIB. The new European Batteries Regulation addresses to some extent refurbishment. But there can be confusion about the applicability to refurbished LIB for products like LEV. Conclusions The risk of refurbished LIB is expected to be higher than of original LIB. Furthermore, as refurbishment is expected to become more common for consumer products, the risk for consumers will increase. Key messages • There is a need to clarify applicable legislations for refurbishment and set standards for refurbished LIB. Topic Lithium ion batteries, refurbishment, consumer product safety.