China introduces a national mandatory safety standard for portable power banks developed by Huawei, CATL, Lenovo, Xiaomi, Oppo, Anker and Ugreen

National mandatory standard for portable power banks unveiled in China

On Wednesday, 2 April, China presented its first national mandatory standard titled “Technical specifications for the safety of portable power banks”.

Who developed the “Technical specifications for the safety of portable power banks”

The requirements were created jointly by the China Electronics Standardisation Institute and 30 leading companies, including Huawei, CATL, Lenovo, Xiaomi, Oppo, Anker, Ugreen and others.

Tests and requirements new portable power banks must meet

Below are some of the checks and criteria that new portable power banks will be expected to comply with:

• Needle penetration test. A steel needle with a diameter of 4 mm is driven into the geometric centre of a fully charged battery cell at 20 ± 1 mm/s and left in place for 5 minutes. To pass, the cell must not catch fire or leak.
• Temperature and other tests. High-temperature resistance is increased to roughly 135°C for 60 minutes. Meanwhile, the overcharge test voltage is raised to 1.4× the rated voltage. In addition, new mechanical safety tests have been added to the programme, including drop, compression, and impact resistance testing.
• Waste processing. Companies will no longer use recycled or reconditioned battery cells in new products. Manufacturers must mark products with the safe service life, the manufacturer (OEM), and the battery materials. They must also carry out safety tests after cyclic ageing.

Possible market impact

As huaweicentral reports, the new safety standard could push prices up for these devices. At the same time, it is expected to reduce the number of cheap, low-quality portable power banks on the market and give users a higher level of safety and charging quality for their devices.