Batteries Are Everywhere. Safety Should Be, Too.

Introduced in 1991, lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries are found in more and more devices. While we’re used to finding Li-ion batteries in products such as phones, laptops and electric vehicles (EVs), now they are used in a wide array of consumer products, from e-cigarettes to children’s toys and wearable technology to drones.

Such widespread popularity is no wonder. The lithium-ion battery’s benefits include:

• Portability and versatility: A quick charge can keep a device powered up for days, weeks or even months and free from the tangle of charging cables.
• Performance: Advances in battery design have helped overcome limitations and enabled enhanced dependability. Today’s Li-ion batteries feature increased energy density, fitting more power within a smaller footprint.
• Sustainability: Li-ion batteries can be recharged hundreds or thousands of times, which helps minimize waste. 

With lithium-ion batteries, we can go anywhere

Powering mobile devices, e-bikes and more, Li-ion batteries empower us to explore the world. Take a look at our consumer electronics batteries infographic for a quick overview of battery-powered products.

Lithium-ion battery safety

Because of the rising universality of products with Li-ion batteries on board, manufacturers must be sure that their battery-operated products can meet the expectations of today’s discerning consumers — not only for performance, but also, more importantly, for safety.

In July 2020, Consumer Reports conducted a study demonstrating that today’s buyers have expectations around safety that manufacturers are not meeting:

• 96% of American consumers believe that products they purchased require adherence to mandatory safety standards. The real number? Just 70 of 15,000 — fewer than 1% — of product categories overseen by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) must comply with a mandatory safety standard.
• 97% of American consumers expect manufacturers to test products before they enter the market.

As a global leader in safety science, we at UL offer a comprehensive battery safety testing and certification program to help manufacturers identify risks that may impact product safety, time to market and brand reputation.

For more information on UL’s battery safety testing and certification program, contact our experts.