TA-1106: Lithium Ion Batteries Shipping by Air

Update 1, May 6, 2016

After further analysis, Intel has determined that:

• We can continue shipping our Battery Backup Units by air.
• We'll restart shipping batteries immediately.

How do the new regulations for lithium batteries affect me?

New regulations applicable to air shipments of lithium batteries have been approved, and these regulations affect the way we ship batteries to you.

Which products are affected?

What caused these new regulations?

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has made changes in the regulation for batteries transportation as cargo on passenger aircraft.

Those changes make it known that the state of charge shouldn't exceed 30% of their rated design capacity. The number of batteries that can be shipped has also been limited to one package per consignment. Overpacks may contain no more than 8 cells or 2 batteries. And the cargo can only be shipped on cargo planes.

Lithium ion batteries installed in equipment or packed with equipment can still be shipped on a passenger aircraft, and the state of charge (SOC) doesn't matter as long as the battery is installed or packed with the equipment the battery is intended to power.

Refer to the complete document on updating lithium ion batteries.

Compliance with the new regulations is mandatory effective April 1, 2016.
 

How has Intel resolved the issues stemming from these new regulations?

At the time of publication, all available inventory of Battery Backup Units, including units previously shipped to customers, currently exceeds 30% state of charge. Therefore, air transportation can't ship these Battery Backup Units. As such, in order to remain compliant, Intel decided to temporarily stop shipments to customers in countries and locations where air routes solely fulfill the shipments. These countries include but are not limited to; Australia, China, Cyprus, Japan, Latvia, Lebanon, New Zealand, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand, and Turkey.

In the meantime, Intel has taken steps to forward-stage limited quantities of Battery Backup Units to local warehouses worldwide, and will be supporting orders on a Restricted Ship basis to eligible locations serviced by land and sea routes. You should expect to see lead-times for Battery Backup Units increase by up to 6 weeks depending on available inventory and are therefore encouraged to place orders in advance of requirements.

Intel is actively investigating all options for a long-term solution to restore responsiveness and worldwide availability for Intel® RAID Smart Batteries while remaining compliant with all regulations, and Intel will publish additional updates shortly.

TA-1106 batteries by air shipping (PDF)
New regulations applicable to air shipments of lithium batteries have been approved. These new regulations affect the way we ship batteries to you.
 

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