Lithium-Ion Batteries are Mostly Powered by China

By Anshula Mandaokar , 20 March, 2023

Lithium-ion batteries have come under crucial examination once again after a string of fires are caused by batteries of electric bicycles and scooters. These batteries are used in everyday products such as phones, laptops and cameras are considered to e safe as long as they are properly manufactures; not tampered or mistreated; and do not have any defects. On the other hand , the batteries used in smartphones and other devices are comparatively smaller and less often subjected to extreme forces. Again, lithium-ion batteries used in e-bikes and e-scooters are much larger and more prone to damages.

Quality control with safety standards is another problem. in recent times, the price for scooters went dramatically up, such as in places like New York for deliveries, as said by vice president and executive director of Underwriters Laboratory’s Fire Safety Research Institute, Steve Kerber said.

He even recommended to buy certified scooters and e-bikes from reputed brands and retailers in order to not have any issues while getting quality manufactures.

The threat over the head is from the unregulated huge market for battery packs posing a challenge to regulators and consumers. According to the reports, the United States imports hundreds of millions of lithium-ion battery each year with the increasing volume. As per the data, China has been accounted for the vast majority of U.S. battery imports last year with a total trade value of $9.3 billion. Japan and South Korea are also popular sources with batteries $1.3 billion and $1.0 billion imported to the United States in 2022. Therefore, the total import value of lithium-ion batteries is nearly tripled since 2020 reaching $13.9 billion last year.