{"operation":"document","citation":"10-0199","title":"Britton & Associates, S.C. — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2010-10-21","effective_on":null,"summary":"10-0199 response to Britton & Associates, S.C. concerning 173.185.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-10-0199.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-10-0199.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-10-0199","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2010/100199.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials\nSafety Administration\n1200 New Jersey Ave, SE\nWashington, D.C. 20590\nOCT 2 1 2010\nMr. Larry J. Britton\nBritton & Associates, S.C.\n735 North Water Street\n16th Floor West\nMilwaukee, WI 53202\nRef. No.: 10-0199\nDear Mr. Britton:\nThis is in response to your September 3, 2010, letter requesting clarification of requirements in the\nHazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to design-type testing\nof lithium ion batteries. You describe a single lithium ion battery comprised of electrically\nconnected cells weighing approximately 650 lbs and a watt-hour (Wh) rating of 28,000 Who\nAdditionally, you state that the component cells will pass each ofthe applicable tests outlined in the\n5th revised edition of the UN Manual ofTests and Criteria. Specifically you ask if the battery\ndescribed in your letter must additionally pass each of the applicable tests outlined in the UN\nManual ofTests and Criteria.\nIn accordance with the UN Manual of Tests and Criteria, a lithium battery assembly in which the\naggregate lithium content of all anodes, when fully charged, is more than 500 g, or in the case ofa\nlithium ion battery, a Watt-hour rating ofmore than 6,200 Watt-hours is comprised ofelectrically\nconnected batteries that have passed all applicable tests does not need to be tested if it is equipped\nwith a system capable of monitoring the battery assembly and preventing short circuits, or over\ndischarge between the batteries in the assembly and any overheat or overcharge ofthe battery\nassembly.\nThe provision described above applies to a battery assembly composed of electrically connected\nbatteries that have passed all applicable tests. Since the battery described in your letter is assembled\nfrom individually tested cells and not individually tested batteries, the battery described in your\nletter must meet all ofthe applicable tests in the UN Manual of Tests and Criteria. While each of\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nthe cells that form the battery described in your letter may pass each of the applicable design type\ntests, there is no evidence of the ability of the battery to pass the applicable tests.\nI hope this information is helpful. If you have further questions, please contact this office.\nSincerely,\n~\nBen Supko\nActing Chief, Standards Development\nOffice of Hazardous Materials Standards\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nLeari{\nBRITTON §n3./ft'S\n-&-\nASSOCIATES sc ICJ\"'C q\n13a-Hey-{e~\nTELEPHONE: 414-273-29\nLARRY J. BRlTTON ATTORNEYS AT LAW FALX: 414-273-2905\nE-MAIL: Ijb@britton-law.com\nWEBSITE: www.britton-law.com Est. 1913\nSeptember 3,2010\n0 0\nOffice of Hazardous Materials Special Permits and Approvals en\nrq\nCJ\n._1\n.......:\nEnergetic Materials -0 :'::\"1\nATIN: Mr. Don Berger 0 V\n(..()\n1200 New Jersey Avenue -0 \"»\nEast\nBuilding, 2nd Floor ~-..\nN\nPHH-30\n..\nRoom# E21-406 Ul\n~ (f)\nWashington, DC 20590\nSent in Duplicate via Electronic Mail to: Specialpermits@dot.gov\nRE: Request for Clarification\nDear Mr. Berger:\n: ,<,'\n~ •• .~, ~.f, t: , ;.. _:;·..\";;,:.~_f': ,,'I ';>~:..:a ..)..;.-: :'~,~,:,,:,~ ~~~lJ./;\n,N'\".\nJohnson Controls-Saft Power Solutions, LLC, (\"JCS\") is a manufacturer of lithium~ion batteries.\nBy regulation, lithium-ion batteries are to be subjected to the,te~ng.prptocols present in the UN\nTest Manual. The 5th edition of the UN Test Manual contains the following language:, ' .\n<\n38.3.3 WHEN A CELL OR BATTERY TYPE IS TO B.E TESTED UNDER THIS SUBSECTION,\nTHE NUMBER AND CONDITION OF· CELLS AND BATTERIES. OF EACH\nTYPE TO BE TESTED ARE AS FOLLOWS:\nWhen batteries that have passed all applicable tests are electrically connected to\nform a battery assembly in which the aggregate lithium content of all anodes,\nwhen fully charged, is more than 500g, or in the crute.of \\he lithium-ion battery,\nwith a watt-hour rating of more than 6200WH, that battery assembly does not\nneed to be tested if it is equipped with a system capable ofmonitoring the battery\nassembly and preventin,g :short circuits, or over discharge between the batteries in\nthe assembly and any overheat or overcharge of the l?attery assembly~~, ,_: \" I., . '\n, .\nJ ,,;\n'-\n,\n, \"\n..; , ,~: . :.~ ,j;:.~' f-'\" ~--, ~; ......... ,';\"\" ~,,':Iq, .. :' .. !.l\"··~· ~_~I\nIn other words, the 5th edition of the uN testing protocol does not require testing for very' large\nbatteries which, are comprised of smaller batteries where those smaller batteries pass all\napplicable tests. This exemption recognizes the physical limitations of testing very large\nbatteries.\n735 NORTH WATER STREET, 16TH FLOOR WEST, MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN 53202\nBRI'ITON & ASSOCIATES, S.C. IS A UMITED UABILITY LEGAL ENTITY\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\nMr. Don Berger\nSeptember 3, 20 I 0\nPage 2 of2\nJohnson Controls-Saft will soon manufacture a very large battery for electric vehicles that\nweighs approximately 650 pounds, containing approximately 4,000 g of lithium content with a\nrating of 28,000 Watt-hours (the \"EV Pack\"). While the EV Pack easily exceeds the 500 g/6,200\nWatt-hour criteria, it is not an assembly of small batteries. Instead, the BV Pack consists of cells\nwhich are connected electrically with a battery monitoring system, and each ofthe cells will pass\nthe testing specified in the UN Test Manual (5th edition).\nJCS believes that the aforementioned exemption should apply to its EV Pack. The exemption is\nbased on the fact that very large batteries cannot be easily tested due to their size and weight, but\nthe exemption is only available where the components making up the very large batteries\nsuccessfully pass the applicable tests. In other words, the exemption for very large batteries is\nessentially an exemption from re-testing assembled components that have themselves already\npassed the applicable testsl before assembly into a very large battery pack.\nThe cells used in the JCS EV Pack will pass all safeguards and safety requirements set forth in\nthe UN testing procedure. JCS requests confirmation from PHMSA that the exemption for very\nlarge batteries, which would eliminate the need to re-test JCS's EV Pack, applies to its\nmanufacturing process of connecting cells to form a battery assembly in which the aggregate\nlithium content of all anodes, when fully charged, is more than 500 g or in the case of a lithium\nbattery, with a Watt-hour rating of more than 6,200, so long as it is equipped with a system\ncapable of monitoring the battery assembly in preventing short circuits or overcharge between\nthe cells in the assembly and any overheat or overcharge of the battery assembly. In other\nwords, JCS believes that the aforementioned exemption to testing should apply to both a battery\nassembly made up of cells and a battery assembly made up of smaller batteries so long as all\nother testing provisions have been met.\nI would appreciate your immediate confirmation on this issue to determine our packaging and\ntransportation requirements for the JCS EV Packs.\nSincerely,\nBRlTTON & ASSOCIATES, S.c.\n•.. ...)\n-(j)~\nLa J. Britton\nLJB.SMT.mmk\nI Johnson Controls-Saft is authorized to test lithium ion batteries in accordance with the amendments in Section 38.3\nof the UN Manual of Tests and Criteria pursuant to Approval CA2010030026.","truncated":false,"body_characters":7196}