Technical Guide: LITHIUM

LITHIUM BATTERIES2013 IATA Packing Instructions Explained

Technical Guide:

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Lithium Batteries: 2013 IATA Packing Instructions Explained

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Contents

Lithium Batteries 2013 IATA Packing Instruc-tions Step-by-Step

Lithium Ion Batteries UN 3480, PI 965

Lithium Ion Batteries Packed with Equipment, UN 3481, PI 966 and Lithium Metal or Alloy Batteries Packed with Equipment, UN 3091, PI 969

Lithium Ion Batteries Contained in Equipment, UN 3481, PI 967 and Lithium Metal or Alloy Batteries Contained in Equipment, UN 3091, PI 970

Summary

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ExpertiseBiopharmaceutical commodities shipping, dangerous goods regulations, HAZMAT shipping training, trouleshooting

BiographyMichael Gotz has developed IATA-certified Dangerous Goods training programs and has been a panelist in numerous IATA Dangerous Goods international conferences. He is the author of published journal articles on the subject of the air transport of hazardous commodities.

Michael is responsible for employee and customer Dangerous Goods shipping training, regulatory updating, and shipment troubleshooting for the Quick Group of Companies.

Michael GotzHAZMAT Training & Compliance

Quick Group of Companies

Contact:[email protected]

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If you are a shipper of lithium ion and/or lithium metal or alloy

batteries, you are faced with significantly revised Packing In-

structions PI 965-PI 970, which appeared in the IATA Dangerous

Goods Regulations 54th Edition effective January 1, 2013. At first

reading, these instructions can be confusing and complex. The

purpose of this paper is to break the instructions down into easily

understandable parts as an aid to busy shippers. The key to un-

derstanding and complying with the Packing Instructions is to do

it in an organized process. So let’s take it step by step.

Lithium Batteries2013 IATA Packing InstructionsStep-by-Step

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Step 1

Step 1

Step 1

Step 1

Determine which type of battery you are shipping: lithium ion or

lithium metal.

Find out the properties of the batteries themselves, i.e.:

Lithium ion batteries:

Lithium metal batteries:

Both types:

Decide how many batteries will be in each box that you are ship-

ping, as well as the combined weight of the batteries in each box.

Please note you simply cannot proceed without all of this in-

formation; compliance with the Packing Instructions requires

plugging in these data to newly revised charts. Armed with the

watt-hr or lithium content and the number and weight of batter-

ies you want to place in each individual shipping box, you can

move forward.

Go to the appropriate Packing Instruction for your commodity,

whether PI 965 or PI 968, plug the data into the charts, and fol-

low the instructions.

the watt-hr rating for both the cells and the batterythe lithium metal content of both the cells and the batterythe weight of each battery

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Lithium Ion Batteries UN 3480, PI 965

The most changes appear in PI 965 for lithium ion batteries and PI 968

for lithium metal or alloy batteries, so we will address those packing

instructions first.

PI 965, for shipments of loose lithium ion batteries (UN3480), has been

revised to contain three sections, IA, IB, and II, whereas previously

there were only Sections I and II. Note that in order to comply with one

section, you must understand all of the sections. Read on and you will

see why.

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IA applies to lithium ion batteries:

• With cells that are in excess of 20 wh and the battery

itself has a watt-hr rating in excess of 100 wh

• Or are to be shipped in each box in quantities in excess

of those permitted in Section IB

IB applies to lithium ion batteries:

• With cells not exceeding 20 wh and the battery has a

watt-hr rating not exceeding 100 wh that are to be

shipped in each box in quantities in excess of those

permitted in Section II, Table 965-I

In other words, the cells and batteries limits are the

same for IB and II; the per-package quantities limits are

just higher in IB

II applies to lithium ion batteries:

• With cells not exceeding 20 wh and the battery itself

has a watt-hr rating not exceeding 100 wh that are to

be shipped in each box in quantities not in excess of

those permitted in Section II, Table 965-II

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The suggested way of approaching this is to start by comparing your

data with the requirements of the least restrictive section, Section II, to

see if you qualify, and if not then work your way up towards the most

restrictive. After all, the fewer requirements, the better for faster and

easier shipment preparation.

Assume your battery’s cells have a 21 wh and the battery has a 180

wh, and you want to put two such batteries, each weighing 2 kg, into

one shipping box. Take a look at Table 965-II to see if you qualify to

ship under Section II. The first column applies to cells and batteries

with 2.7 wh or less; well, that is not you. Next column is for cells with

wh ratings greater than 2.7 but not more than 20. That again is not

you. The last column applies to batteries with a wh not more than 100.

Alas, again not you, although you do comply with the 2 batteries per

package rule.

So you proceed upward to Section IB. This is not a help because the

wh restrictions are the same as Section II; the only difference between

II and IB is the number/weight of batteries allowed per package.

EXAMPLE 1

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Important: The weight limits per package in Table

965-IB are the gross weight of the package, meaning the combined

weight of all of the batteries inside the package and all of the pack-

ing material, the box itself, etc. Just put the completed package on a

scale and weigh it.

So you land in Section IA, Table 965-IA, which allows wh ratings great-

er than those in IB and II. Now all you have to do is keep the combined

weight of the batteries in each box under the maximum 5 kg allowed

for Passenger Aircraft or 35 kg for Cargo Freighter.

You ship under the provisions of Section IA.

Important: The weight limits per package in Table 965-IA

are the net quantity of batteries in the package, meaning the combined

weight of all of the batteries inside the package exclusive of any pack-

ing material, the box itself, etc. Only weigh the batteries when outside

of the package.

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EXAMPLE 2Assume your battery’s cells have a 10 wh and the battery has a 50 wh,

and you want to put two such batteries, each weighing 2 kg, into one

shipping box. Take a look at Table 965-II to see if you qualify to ship

under Section II. The last column applies to batteries with a wh not

greater than 100. Great, you do comply with both the wh rating and the

2 batteries per package rule. You ship under the provisions of Section

II. (in the case of column 4, the weight of the batteries and the box is

not relevant, as only the number of batteries count, not their weight).

Does it matter which section you use? YES. Section IA is far more re-

strictive than IB and II.

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Section IA:

• Prepared as Class 9

• UN packaging required

• Fully marked and labeled

• Shipper’s Declaration required

Section IB:

• UN packaging not required

• Shipper’s Declaration not required

• A special document with certain statements is required, but

usually the courier company or freight forwarder takes care of

this by putting it all down on the air waybill, along with other

air waybill verbiage

• The Proper Shipping Name and UN Number must be marked

on the box

• The gross weight of the package must be marked on the package

• The box must bear both the Class 9 label and the Lithium

Batteries Handling Label

(The last three points are new rules)

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Note: that if your batteries qualify for Section IB only because you

have too many in each box, you have the option of making more pack-

ages with no more than 2 batteries per box. This would then put you

into Section II.

Section II:

• UN packaging not required

• Shipper’s Declaration not required

• The box must bear the Lithium Batteries Handling Label

• A special document with certain statements is required, but

usually the courier company or freight forwarder takes care of

this by putting it all down on the air waybill, along with other air

waybill verbiage

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Lithium Ion Batteries Packed with Equipment, UN 3481, PI 966 and Lithium Metal or Alloy Batter-ies Packed with Equipment, UN 3091, PI 969

The format of these packing instructions have not changed sig-

nificantly. The big change here is in the net quantity per package

limits in Section II.

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The old Section II net quantity of lithium batteries allowed per package

was the minimum number of batteries necessary to power the equip-

ment plus 2 spares

The new Section II, PI 966 and PI 969 requires:

• The net quantity of lithium batteries allowed per package

is the minimum number of batteries necessary to power

the equipment plus 2 spares

• The net quantity (weight) of lithium batteries allowed

per package may not exceed 5 kg for passenger aircraft

and 5 kg for cargo freighter

In other words, the shipper in previous years was allowed to put very

heavy lithium batteries in a package; as long as they conformed to

the battery watt hour (lithium ion) or lithium content (lithium metal)

and the maximum number of batteries per package limits for Section

II. Now they must comply with not only the wh/wt and max number of

batteries, but the combined weight of the batteries cannot exceed 5

kg per package. This essentially means that heavy batteries that used

to qualify for Section II must now be shipped under the provisions

of Section I. This fact may require some shippers to comply with full

Class 9 rules, a big change.

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Lithium Ion Batteries Contained in Equipment, UN 3481, PI 967 and Lithium Metal or Alloy Batter-ies Contained in Equipment, UN 3091, PI 970

Both Section I and Section II greatly restricts the number of

batteries you can put into one package.

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Section I change in both Packing Instructions:

• The old Section I net quantity of lithium batteries allowed

per package was 5 kg/35 kg per piece of equipment

• The new Section I net quantity of lithium batteries allowed

per package is 5 kg/35 kg per package

This is a huge change that greatly restricts the number of batteries

you can put into one package.

Section II Change in both Packing Instructions:

• The old Section II net quantity of lithium batteries allowed per

package was unlimited

• The new Section II net quantity of lithium batteries allowed

per package is 5 kg for passenger aircraft and 5 kg for

cargo freighter

This is a huge change that greatly restricts the number of batteries

you can put into one package. In fact, this may be the most significant

change of all for shipping lithium batteries, since most shippers tend

to use Section II for lithium batteries in equipment (provided the wh/

content limits are observed).

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Summary

To successfully navigate through all of this information, follow the

four steps discussed above, then go only to the packing instruc-

tion that applies to your commodity, and then only to the appropri-

ate Section.

So, for example, say you have lithium metal batteries, UN 3090,

with cells with a lithium metal content not exceeding 1 g and the

battery itself with a lithium metal content not exceeding 2 g. Then

your relevant packing instruction is PI 968 and you go directly

there. Starting with Section II you see that you qualify if you keep

the number of batteries per package down to no more than 2. If

you can do that, you are on your way.

It is important not to get involved in trying to read and analyze all

of the Packing Instructions; just use the one that applies to you

and there should be no confusion. For example, if you really did

read everything written in this paper, you might just have a head-

ache! Hopefully, by going only to the discussion of the packing

instruction applying to your batteries, it will be like taking aspirin.

The shipper’s first task is to classify the batteries in order to be

able to follow the correct Packaging Instruction. This Technical

Guide explains how to do it step by step.

The shipper’s second task is to package, mark, label, and docu-

ment the shipment. Our Technical Guide “Lithium Batteries: Packaging and Documenting Shipments” offers information

about packaging and labeling your Lithium battery Shipments.

You can download it by visiting our Facebook page and simply

clicking “Like”. Our Facebook updates offer interesting informa-

tion for shippers.

“Like” us on Facebook and download the free guide

Lithium Batteries: Packaging and Documenting Shipments - 2013

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Technical Guide: LITHIUM