Demonstrating Functional Safety Compliance of Lithium Batteries

The purpose of functional safety is to reduce risk in systems so that they perform safely in the event of an electrical or electronic malfunction. Extensive utilization of software and microelectronics in product design increases the complexity of implementing functional safety in systems and processes. 

Companies across a wide range of industries, including medical technology, communications, electrical and electronic components, lighting and appliances, work with UL Solutions to help them demonstrate compliance of the functional safety systems and features of their products.

Responding to a significant increase in global customer demand for lithium-ion batteries, Sunlight Group Energy Storage Systems (Sunlight Group) has expanded its operations to include lithium manufacturing processes at facilities in both Xanthi, Greece, and Greensboro, North Carolina.

With numerous incidents involving highly reactive lithium and lithium-ion batteries making headlines in recent years, Sunlight Group sought to demonstrate the functional safety of its lithium batteries before finalizing their product offering for North America.

Sunlight Group turned to UL Solutions, a leader in battery technology safety testing and certification, to help them demonstrate compliance of the functional safety systems of its lithium batteries before going to market.

The challenge

Sunlight Group needed to implement design and manufacturing processes meeting the stringent documentation procedures specified by the functional safety requirements and to demonstrate that Sunlight Group’s lithium batteries meet applicable end-product standards for certification.

Unlike end-product testing, functional safety assessments review each stage of the product life cycle and evaluate the specified product’s complete set of safety requirements.

The strategy

UL Solutions worked with Sunlight Group engineering and quality-assurance personnel prior to the product launch, providing engineering support and comprehensive training in functional safety concepts and practices. 

UL Solutions engineers reviewed all relevant documentation and the product’s safety design, witnessing hardware and software testing prior to issuing its report. 

Companies that undergo a functional safety assessment must demonstrate that they have developed a comprehensive functional safety process and followed the steps documented during product development.

“The functional safety assessment is all about the process and is, therefore, an audit of the established processes and procedures for a product,” Bashier Machmur, UL Solutions Functional Safety Engineering leader for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.