Battery safety standards

The advancement of therapeutic vaping products as a genuinely viable alternative to cigarettes is due, in a large part, to the rapid advancement in Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery technology. These advances have been essential to the miniaturisation of portable electronics, increasing power storage and output levels from increasingly smaller batteries.

Li-ion consumer goods and medical device batteries are subject to international safety standards. The testing for these standards subjects the batteries and cells to a series of safety/abuse tests for adverse thermal, mechanical, electrical and environmental events.

These standards apply to all medical devices and will become mandatory for all vaping products from 1 July 2025:

• IEC 62133-2 – the international standard for exporting Lithium-Ion batteries, including those used in laboratory and medical equipment; and
• UN 38.3 – UN Transportation Testing requirements for Lithium metal and Lithium-ion cells and batteries.