How to Spot a Counterfeit Lithium-Ion Battery

Summary

As an auditor of battery manufacturers around the world, University of Maryland mechanical engineer Michael Pecht frequently finds himself touring spotless production floors. They’re akin to “the cleanest hospital that you could imagine–it’s semiconductor-type cleanliness,” he says. But he’s also seen the opposite, and plenty of it. Pecht estimates he’s audited dozens of battery factories where he found employees watering plants next to a production line or smoking cigarettes where particulates and contaminants can get into battery components and compromise their performance and safety.Unfortunately, those kinds of scenes are just the tip of the iceberg. Pecht says he’s seen poorly assembled lithium-ion cells with little or no safety features and, worse, outright counterfeits. These phonies may be home-built or factory-built and masquerade as those from well-known global brands. They’ve been found in scooters, vape pens, e-bikes, and other devices, and have caused fires and explosions with lethal consequences.The prevalence of fakes is on the rise, causing growing concern in the global battery market. In fact, after a rash of fires in New York City over the past few years caused by faulty batteries, including many powering e-bikes used by the city’s delivery cyclists, New York banned the sale of uncertified batteries. The city is currently setting up what will be its first e-bike battery-swapping stations as an alternative to home charging, in an effort to coax delivery riders to swap their depleted batteries for a fresh one rather than charging at home, where a bad battery could be a fire hazard.Compared with certified batteries, whose public safety risks may be overblown, the dangers of counterfeit batteries may be underrated. “It is probably an order of magnitude worse with these counterfeits,” Pecht says.There are a few ways to build a counterfeit battery. Scammers often relabel old or scrap batteries built by legitimate manufacturers like LG, Panasonic, or Sams...