By Andy Pasztor
International air-safety experts this week will consider
proposals to restrict lithium batteries carried as cargo by
commercial jets, a sign that momentum is building for a ban on some
of the most common types of shipments.
Meeting in Montreal under the auspices of the United Nations,
more than two dozen industry and government experts are set to
debate options including temporarily keeping bulk shipments of
rechargeable lithium-ion batteries off of all passenger aircraft
until enhanced packaging requirements and other protections are in
place.
Lithium batteries, packed tightly together, can overheat or
catch fire if they are damaged or experience short circuits. They
have been implicated in intense, quickly spreading fires that
brought down two jumbo freighters--and ravaged another big cargo
jet on the ground--during the past nine years.
Unlike earlier meetings of the same group of experts, this time
Boeing Co., Airbus Group NV and other plane makers in principle
support such a suspension, amounting to a major tightening of
current global shipping standards developed by the International
Civil Aviation Organization, a U.N. agency.
Other pending proposals are less restrictive, though they still
could end up imposing procedural changes and enhanced safeguards on
a fast-growing global battery industry that churns out billions of
cells annually and generates an estimated $12 billion in revenue
from rechargeable batteries alone.
The outcome of this week's deliberations, though, is uncertain,
according to participants and observers familiar with the
details.
Industry representatives are split in their positions and it
isn't clear how far the advisory panel is willing to go to crack
down on such airborne cargo.
But outside pressures have changed since last year, when ICAO
took the unprecedented step of prohibiting lithium-metal batteries
from being carried as cargo by any passenger jet. Such batteries
carry a one-time charge and are often used in toys and cameras.
Now, plane makers are focused on possibly suspending passenger
jets from accepting certain bulk shipments of rechargeable
lithium-ion batteries--ubiquitous power sources found in
cellphones, laptops and myriad other consumer electronics.
The manufacturers have joined pilot union leaders in arguing
that existing jetliners weren't designed or built to withstand the
high temperatures or explosive gases that also can result from
fires involving lithium-ion power cells.
Recent Federal Aviation Administration laboratory tests--which
haven't yet been publicly released--indicate that lithium battery
blazes are more prone to end in hazardous explosions or to reignite
than scientists previously believed, according to one person
briefed on the details.
In their latest submission, an umbrella group representing
aircraft makers told ICAO that current cargo fire-protection
systems "are unable to suppress or extinguish a fire involving
significant quantities of lithium batteries." As a result, flying
such batteries as cargo poses "an unacceptable risk to the air
transport industry," according to the paper submitted by the
International Coordination Council for Aerospace Industry
Association.
The association advocates "immediate action" to reduce risks, by
temporarily halting all cargo shipments of "high-density packages
of lithium-ion batteries and cells" on passenger jets until "safer
methods of transport are established and followed."
The "tide is definitely turning, since we have these
recommendations from the manufacturers," according to another
participant in the upcoming session. But so far, this person
emphasized, there is no consensus on many big-ticket items.
Still unresolved are sweeping recommendations from last fall
including proposals to insert gels or other types of cooling agents
between batteries or power packs, as a way to prevent rapid spread
of heat and flames.
A recent position paper submitted to ICAO by the Rechargeable
Battery Association, a leading industry trade group, opposes
proposals to sharply reduce the level of electrical charge inside
lithium-ion batteries slated for airborne shipments. That would be
one more way to reduce flammability and seek to prevent
explosions.
The battery group, among other things, objected to shipping
batteries with as little as 30% of maximum charge, arguing that 55%
or so was necessary to avoid potential technical problems, ensure
adequate shelf life and meet customer demands.
Battery experts estimate more than 5 billion lithium-ion cells
were produced globally in 2014, with original manufacturers likely
shipping at least 550 million of them by air. The battery
association's technical paper also asserted that the FAA's tests
aren't relevant to gauge real-world battery behavior.
But in a conciliatory section, the association said that since
ICAO decisions "could have a profound and long-term impact on
lithium-ion cell and battery manufacturers," affected companies
"would welcome the opportunity to work with" the agency and plane
makers to find solutions.
This week's meeting comes as prominent airlines world-wide
increasingly are embracing voluntary restrictions on lithium
battery cargo shipments. United Continental Holdings Inc., Delta
Air Lines Inc., Qantas Airways Ltd. and Air France-KLM are among
the carriers that have stopped putting any lithium batteries in
cargo holds of their passenger planes. Earlier this month, Hong
Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., a major transporter of
lithium batteries coming from Chinese factories, decided to stop
such shipments on all of its planes.
Other issues slated to be considered at the meeting include the
maximum number of loose lithium batteries that can packaged
together under today's standards; and whether smaller, so-called
button batteries, often used for medical and other specialty
devices, should be exempt from general shipping restrictions.
The working group also plans to reassess ICAO's guidance to help
cabin crews react to smoldering or dangerously overheating
batteries inside electronic devices passengers bring into the
cabin. Up to now, experts have advised flight attendants to avoid
moving such items until they are doused in water and completely
cool down. But proponents of some recent studies and new
fire-suppression technologies are urging international and national
regulators to allow burning devices to be placed inside specially
designed protective sleeves as soon as a problem is discovered.
Write to Andy Pasztor at andy.pasztor@wsj.com
Access Investor Kit for Fugro NV
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=NL0000352565
Access Investor Kit for The Boeing Co.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US0970231058
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires