Battery Testing, Inspection, &

Certification Considerations:
Components to Products
Ryan Franks
Business Manager, Global Energy Storage
CSA Group

© 2018 CSA Group Testing & Certification Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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 Cell Abuse - Overcharge

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 Cell Abuse – Nail Puncture

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 Overview
• Types of compliance requirements and
how standards are developed
• Cell and battery standards and testing
• Energy storage system standards and
testing

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 Focused on Trust and Safety Across the
Value Chain

Testing, Global
Government International Mark
Standards Inspection & Market Anti-
Relations Certification Acceptance
Development Certification Programs Counterfeiting
Harmonization
Supporting Global services Cybersecurity, Assistance in
Supported by active and engagement Protecting the
adoption into in more than Functional Safety entering +140
research capabilities with Authorities mark globally
codes, regulations 50 technology and Management countries
having jurisdiction
areas Services

Built on nearly a century of public trust and

exceptional customer service

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 Global Service Offerings
North American
Certification Energy Efficiency

International
Certification Cybersecurity

COMPLETE
Field Certification TESTING
SERVICES
Functional Safety

Field Evaluations
Third Party
Verifications

Quality Management

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 Global Footprint For Market Expertise & Access

+2,000 employees

39 offices in
14 countries

assists in entering
+140 countries

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 CSA Group Certification Marks
• CSA Group marks appear on billions of qualified
products worldwide delivering confidence and peace of
mind to manufacturers, retailers, code authorities and
consumers around the world.

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 Supporting the Value Chain
Retailer or Field
• R&D to commercialization Installation

• Prototype to production Actual Use Testing,

Production Comparison
• Preliminary tests through Battery
Testing,
FE
production or installation Product R&D
Battery Cell Standards,
Production Quality,
Inspection
Battery Cell Standards,
R&D Performance,
Durability
Standards,
Quality,
Performance, Inspection
Durability,
Standards

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 Types of Compliance Requirements
• Direct regulations – Mandated by law in a given
jurisdiction
• Indirect regulations – Required to meet codes
which are adopted into local or regional law, such
Involving an
as the US National or Canadian Electrical Codes accredited
• Customer requirements – Required to ensure certification partner
supplier quality and bolster liability protection early in the design
process can help
• Industry Norms/historical practices – Promote the create and execute
general safety position of the sector as a whole a successful
• Corporate policy – Ensure conservative approach compliance plan
to safety

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 The Standards Development Process
• Involvement in your local and international IEC
Canada
standards development provides
SCC International
significant benefits
Technical Committee
– Have a voice in standard requirements IEC TC 120
CSA
– Gain early access to draft standards and test
Canadian
requirements Energy Storage
Mirror CAN ... ... USA
• The Canadian example Committee

– Canadian Mirror Committee managed by CSA Recommended Practices,

Group develops the position for Canada Model Codes
– Drives international development through IEC
IEEE ASME NFPA ...
– Canada will ultimately adopt IEC standards

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 Common Battery Standards
• UL 1642: Standard for Lithium Batteries
• UL 2054: Standard for Safety for Household and Commercial
Batteries
• IEC 62133: Secondary Cells and Batteries Containing Alkaline or
Other Non-acid Electrolytes – Safety Requirements for Portable
Sealed Secondary Cells, and for Batteries Made From Them, for
Use in Portable Applications
• UN 38.3: Safety of Primary and Secondary Lithium Cells and
Batteries During Transport

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 Factors Affecting Safety of Cell/Battery
1) Chemistry – various active components with various types of
combination used
• Relative stability and response to abuse depends on cell chemistry
• Higher energy density => Less stable chemistry
2) Design of cell and battery- including design for safety, thermal
management, mechanical stability/protection, controlled reactivity, and safe
response to abuse
3) Manufacturing practice - flawless manufacturing process. No folded
electrodes, proper weld/tabbing to prevent thermal or heating, uniformity of
coatings, and separator to prevent non-uniform utilization

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 Factors Affecting Safety of Cell/Battery

4) System design and operation

• Battery and/or external systems to prevent overcharge, external short or other
abusive conditions
• Proper handling, storage, maintenance, and use of the cells/batteries to prevent
problems and preserve service life

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 Two Fundamental Failure Modes Due to
Chemistry
• Electrical – due to excess voltage leads to electrolyte decomposition,
reactivity of lithiated carbon/graphite anode, and decomposition and
oxygen generation on cathode

• Thermal – high temperatures (sometimes localized) leads to similar

failure modes including increased volatility and flammability of electrolyte

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 How a Cell and Battery are Designed
• Cell and battery need to be designed for safety. Consideration should be
given for thermal management, structural integrity, mechanical support,
and containment.
• The following should be considered during design
1) Environment (use, storage, and transport) airflow or cooling
2) Physical protection (battery case)
3) Vent before burst
4) Design for shock, vibration, and acceleration
5) Electronic protection (CID, PTC, battery management)

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 Conditions of Use Considered in 62133
Conditions of cells/ batteries use considered in the standard
(62133) are
1) Intended use
2) Reasonably foreseeable misuse

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 Safety Devices in a Cell
1) Current Interrupt Device (CID) - protects against
overcurrent that breaks the internal electrical
connection when internal pressure reaches a set
value (such as during abnormal discharge condition)
2) Positive Temperature Coefficient (PTC) - often
placed in the cell head to limit high current
3) Current Limiting Fuses - may be used in place of
PTC when a sustained discharge is not preferred
4) Diodes - may be used to prevent advertent charging
(blocking diode) or to steer the discharge current
around a weak cell as in a discharge (bypass diode)

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 Safety - Facts and Safety Concerns of
Lithium-ion Cell/Battery
• Safety incidents that take place in the field almost always
originate due to an internal short (that was not detectable or
predictable at the point of manufacture).
• Evidence for temperatures in excess of 660 0C is routinely found
in safety incident post mortems for Li-ion cells and batteries.
• Internal short circuits heats up the cell to 700 0C. The cell case
aluminum, in many cases, melt at 600 0C
• Electrical energy decapitate in a cell at 800 0C (no matter what)
and it will eject the solvent (dismantle/explode) which is fire

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 Energy Storage System Standardization
• UL 9540 Standard for Energy Storage Systems and Equipment
– Published in November 2016, binational US and Canada
– Referenced by NFPA 855 Standard for the Installation of Stationary Energy Storage
Systems; “tested and listed equipment” per NEC
– UL 1973 (stationary battery) + UL 1741 (inverter) + System Considerations  UL 9540
• UL 1642 cells (Li-ion)/UL 2054 pack (Li-ion) referenced into UL 1973
• IEC 62933 ED1 Series
– 1: Terminology
– 2-1: Unit Parameters and testing methods
– 3-1: Planning and installation
– 4-1: Guidance on environmental issues
– 5-1: Safety considerations for grid integrated EES systems
– 5-2: Safety considerations related to the integrated electrical energy storage system -
batteries

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 UN Classification of Lithium Cells/Batteries
• CLASS 9 – MISCELLANEOUS DANGEROUS GOODS
– Miscellaneous dangerous goods are substances and articles which during
transport present a danger or hazard not covered by other classes
Commonly Transported Miscellaneous Dangerous Goods
Reason for Regulation
• Dry ice / cardice / solid carbon • Battery powered equipment
Miscellaneous dangerous goods present dioxide • Battery powered vehicles
a wide array of potential hazards to • Expandable polymeric beads / • Fuel cell engines
polystyrene beads • Internal combustion engines
human health and safety, infrastructure • Ammonium nitrate fertilizers • Vehicles
and/ or their means of transport • Blue asbestos / crocidolite • Magnetized material
• Lithium ion batteries • Dangerous goods in apparatus
• Lithium metal batteries etc.

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 UN Manual Adoption

• UN 38.3 is adopted by the following and other

organizations:
– IATA (International Air Transport Association)
– ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization)
– ADR (European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of
Dangerous Goods by Road)
– IMO (International Maritime Organization)
– DOT (U.S. Department of Transportation)

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 List of Tests T1 –T8
• List of tests:
• T1 – Altitude Simulation
• T2 – Thermal Test
• T3 – Vibration
• T4 – Shock
• T5 – External Short Circuit
• T6 – Impact
• T7 – Overcharge
• T8 – Forced Discharge
https://www.unece.org/trans/areas-of-work/dangerous-goods/legal-instruments-
and-recommendations/un-manual-of-tests-and-criteria/rev6-files.html

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 Responsibility for the Safety of ESS is Shared

System Authority Having

Owner/Operator Jurisdiction (AHJ)

Safety
Compliance
Other Component
Requirements Suppliers

TIC Organization System

Integrator /
Manufacturer Contractor(s)

Inverter
Battery Manufacturer
Manufacturer

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 Compliance by Market Segment
Commercial/
Residential Utility/Community
Industrial (C/I)
• Systems generally • Local AHJ dictates • Compliance driven by
require a certification requirements internal safety
mark from a NRTL • Components certified procedures and AHJ
• IEC developing • Field evaluation • Full system standards
international programs are an increasingly popular
standards option versus full • Field evaluation
certification combined with
component cert.

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 Technical Information Services
• Learn the standards that apply in the markets you target
• Understand the technical requirements you need to meet
• Identify what you need to expedite the certification process
• Learn the best formats for reporting
• Take advantage of on-site seminars that can transfer
knowledge to your team
• Explore what's involved in creating an in-house testing service

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 Model Certification Overview
• Typically used for high volume applications
such as residential applications for energy
storage
• Requires a follow-up factory inspection
process to ensure products are being made
to the certified design
• Bears a certification mark from a
recognized, accredited certification body
A residential energy storage system used to
store PV energy may require model
certification and carry a certification mark

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 Field Evaluations
• Special Inspection (SI) required in Canada for non-
certified, low volume products
– Per CSA Standard SPE-1000
• US Field Evaluation (USFE) voluntary, depending on AHJ
– Per NFPA 791
• Compliance indicates safety review and approval by
accredited third party
• No follow-up inspection required
System standard
• Label only applies to installed product – changes require UL 9540 does not
additional inspection cover the system
installation

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 Field Evaluation Snapshot
• Typically for low volume, refurbished, or custom
engineered projects that isn’t practical for certification
• Conducted at client facility or at the final installation site
• Required tests vary depending on the type of product
and installation location, as they are based on the Field
regional installation codes and standard requirements Evaluations

• Successful evaluations receive serialized

CSA Group label to each product

Special
Inspections

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 Field Evaluation Process

Review prior to Determine if Confirm

evaluation: product environmental
installation will Confirm
requirements:
• Technical Information comply with local components
Apply SI/FE
Services (TIS) codes and comply with use
• Ventilation label and
• BOM (Bill of Materials) requirements. and design of end
• Enclosure issue report
• Schematics product
• Foundation
• Certification and/or May need to • Site protection
testing documents for conduct testing • etc.
critical components

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 Documentation & Other Considerations
• Electrical schematic and wiring diagrams
• Photographs of product
• Specifications and data sheets of product
• A list of all countries you plan to sell this product in
• Bill of Materials - list all components and materials used in the product/system including:
– Manufacturer name
– Model or catalog designation
– Electrical ratings
– Certification or listing of all components, paying special attention to:
– Inverter/power conversion (and if in compliance with UL 1741), demonstrated testing to IEEE 1547 or IEEE 1547.1 if applicable
(utility interactive)
– Battery rack/string (and if in compliance with UL 1973) and battery cell certification (if in compliance with UL 1642 for Li-ion)
– Enclosure testing/listing
• System safety analysis
• Fire risk assessment
• Fault tree analysis
• Arc flash analysis
• Failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA)

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 Critical System Components
• Batteries
• Heating and Cooling System
• Inverters
• Software and Firmware
• Battery Management System

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 Field Evaluation Benefits

• Compliance to standard
• AHJ approval
• Third-party assurance of safety compliance for their end user
• Risk mitigation
• Competitive advantage and differentiator

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 Project Examples
• Industrial control panels
• High voltage (above 1000Vac) Transformers, both dry
type and liquid immersed
• Field installed and modified switchgear (both HV and
LV)
• Unique equipment such as watering and feeding
system for plant-based air cleansing (HVAC) system
• Energy storage peak shaving equipment installed in
high rise buildings
• Packaged electrical and electronic control systems
that are installed in large format shipping containers
for installation in remote locations
• Control panels for high voltage circuit breakers
installed in photovoltaic panel farms

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 Performance Verification
• Third parties can help manufacturers minimize risk through
performance verification at various stages:
• Development – convince investors that performance specs are accurate
• Commissioning – prove delivered operating characteristics
• Throughout Life – determine degradation rates
• What degree of support does the market need?
• Audit or review of system operator data
• Witness testing at site
• Operation and maintenance type contract
• Full performance test capability by third-party lab

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 Emerging Issues in Compliance

System Standards Functional Safety Cybersecurity

• Increasing ES compliance • Detailed system safety • Utility/network interface

requirements analysis • Requirements span
• UL 9540 • Is software providing components, systems,
• 2017 NEC Sect. 706 critical safety functions? procedures, architecture
• NFPA 855 • Detailed assessment of • Services may include
• How to interpret/certify: risk level; determine bench testing, security
• Assembly in the field appropriate standard development lifecycle
• Multiple component assurance, and
options embedded device
• Flexibility for security assurance
different types of
installations

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 Questions

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 Ryan Franks
Business Manager, Global Energy Storage

T 216 524 4990 x88141

ryan.franks@csagroup.org

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