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Hong Kong leads industry with adoption of new lithium battery safety program
October 18th 2021
CEVA Logistics operations at Hong Kong and Schiphol airports will lead the way in launching an industry certification aimed at promoting the safe handling and transport of lithium batteries. Read More » The Center of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) Lithium Battery certification is backed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and is designed to ensure companies operate to standards aimed at preventing lithium battery fires. The risk posed by batteries was highlighted earlier this year when a pallet of smartphones caught fire at Hong Kong airport. No one was injured in the fire, but it took 40 minutes to extinguish and damaged other pallets. Worryingly, other worldwide incidents have occurred in aircraft holds. Shippers are supposed to correctly pack and label the batteries but not all do. IATA has warned demand for lithium batteries continued to rise as did the risk of battery related fires. “Lithium batteries are critical power sources for many consumer goods on which we all rely,” said IATA director-general, Willie Walsh. “It is vital that we can ship them safely by air either with finished products or as components in global supply chains. It is why we developed the CEIV Lithium Battery certification. It gives shippers and airlines assurance that certified logistic companies operate to the highest safety and security standards when shipping lithium batteries.”
