Growing Demand for Transportation of Lithium Batteries (Lithium Metal Batteries and Lithium-ion Batteries)
What JALCARGO is Doing to Facilitate Air-Freighting of Lithium Batteries
August 28, 2025
Lithium batteries* are used in devices like smartphones and laptops as well as in electric vehicles (EVs). While lithium batteries support our daily lives and businesses, they are also dangerous goods that may ignite or explode, resulting in a serious accident. For that reason, various safety measures have been put in place for the air-freighting of lithium batteries. This article provides a simple introduction to the fundamentals of lithium batteries, the hazards and rules during transportation, and the efforts of JALCARGO to further enhance safety.
- For simplicity, the term "lithium battery" will be used to refer to both lithium-metal and lithium-ion batteries.
What are lithium batteries and why is demand growing?
First, let's take a look at a few key aspects such as the different types of lithium batteries and the advantages that they provide.
Types of lithium batteries
Lithium batteries can be broadly categorized into two main types, namely lithium-metal batteries and lithium-ion batteries. Their respective characteristics and applications are as follows.
Lithium-metal batteries
These are single-use batteries (primary batteries) that cannot be charged. They are used in headlights, pacemakers, hearing aids, wrist watches, calculators, and other devices. Coin-shaped lithium metal batteries are also called "button cells."
Lithium-ion batteries
These are rechargeable batteries (secondary batteries) that can be repeatedly charged for reuse. In addition to smartphones, laptops, tablets, mobile gaming devices, mobile batteries, digital cameras, and other electrical products, lithium-ion batteries are also used in electrical vehicles (EVs).
Advantages of lithium batteries
The main advantages of lithium batteries are their high voltage and power, long lifetime and light weight, voltage that does not decrease until the end of the discharge cycle, and their ability to function at low temperatures.
In particular, lithium-ion batteries are favored for their ability to withstand repeated charging and because they can charge in a short period of time. As the entire world shifts toward renewable energy, all kinds of electrical products are adopting lithium-ion batteries for their high energy efficiency, and the demand for lithium-ion batteries continues to soar.
Countries where lithium batteries are made
Lithium batteries are mainly produced in East Asian countries such as China and South Korea, where manufacturing companies are concentrated, as well as Japan which also has large-scale manufacturers.
Export routes for lithium batteries include shipment from China via Japan to the USA. How to transport lithium batteries in large quantities will likely become increasingly important in countries’ future trade policies.
Why are lithium batteries dangerous goods?
While lithium batteries offer many advantages, they are also dangerous goods that may ignite or explode. Mr. Funai, an expert in handling dangerous goods at JALCARGO, provides a detailed explanation of the risks associated with lithium batteries.
Dangers of lithium batteries
"A lithium battery can ignite or explode due to various reasons. However, such dangers often occur when a strong impact or damage causes a short-circuit between the positive and negative electrodes, which leads to thermal runaway inside the battery. Moreover, because energy is stored inside the battery, extinguishing a fire with a typical fire extinguisher or water once it has started can be challenging, which can lead to an uncontrollable situation.
In particular, non-rechargeable lithium metal batteries are considered to be more dangerous than lithium-ion batteries, because they are filled to capacity with electrical energy. Furthermore, the metallic lithium used in the negative electrode reacts violently with water, which requires careful handling to prevent accidental exposure."
Transporting lithium batteries as air cargo
"JALCARGO is the cargo division of JAL that specializes in the handling of air cargo. When it comes to transporting dangerous goods, we strive to achieve safe and high-quality transportation in accordance with the Dangerous Goods Regulations issued by IATA (International Air Transport Association).
Our work begins at the airport warehouse where we receive cargo from freight forwarders or customers. In particular, extra care must be taken when loading pallets or containers to make sure that the packed lithium batteries are not damaged. Lithium batteries do not cause thermal runaway the moment that they are damaged, but they may ignite after some time has passed, so we must anticipate every possible risk not only before and during transport but also after transport.
Although no such incidents have happened in Japan, aviation accidents caused by lithium batteries have occurred overseas. Large quantities of lithium batteries loaded on an aircraft may ignite and lead to a fire that damages the entire airframe."
Transporting lithium batteries in an aircraft as air cargo
Given the dangers associated with lithium battery transportation by air, IATA has established strict rules for the air-freighting of lithium batteries in the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations. Funai explains some of the key points of the regulations below.
Differences between passenger and dedicated cargo aircraft
"Air cargo can be transported in the lower cargo hold of a passenger aircraft or on a dedicated cargo aircraft. Regulations prohibit the transportation of lithium batteries in bulk. Only packages containing both electronic devices and batteries or electronic devices with installed batteries may be transported on passenger aircraft.
On the other hand, the transportation of lithium batteries in bulk is permitted on dedicated cargo aircraft. JAL also began operation of its own dedicated cargo aircraft in February 2023 to enable us to meet the transport needs of a wide range of customers, including the transport of large lithium batteries."
Packaging standards
Funai explains, "Lithium batteries are subject to strict packaging standards that specify the net amount of batteries per package and the battery charging rate (for lithium-ion batteries), and individual protection measures to prevent contact between devices and batteries within the same packaging.
Typically, the shipments we receive at JALCARGO are already packed. This makes it essential that the customer follow these standards when packing their lithium batteries. In addition, our team checks that the packages are correctly labeled, marked with shipping codes and UN-designated numbers, and that the Shipper's Declaration for Dangerous Goods is correctly filled out."
Examples of Dangerous Goods labels (left: battery mark, right: Class 9 label for batteries)
Stacking requirements
Stacking requirements were added to the standards in January 2025. These standards require that packages containing lithium batteries must be stackable up to a height of three meters without any damage to the batteries or reduction in the effectiveness of the packaging as a container after 24 hours.
Thus, the regulations for transporting lithium batteries are constantly at the center of discussions at IATA meetings, and new rules are established every year to protect the lives of our customers and staff."
JALCARGO's commitment to the safe transport of lithium batteries by air
In addition to complying with the rules, efforts within the air cargo industry are also important to transport lithium batteries in a safe manner. To learn more, we are joined by Go Yamada and Yosuke Kobayashi from the Marketing Group to discuss two initiatives promoted by JALCARGO in recent years.
IATA CEIV Lithium Batteries certification
"The CEIV Lithium Batteries certification is an international standard established by IATA for the air-freighting of lithium batteries that recognizes a high level of transport quality. With the goal of leading efforts to increase the safety of lithium battery transportation across the industry, JAL launched a project team to acquire certification and successfully obtained certification in February 2025." (Kobayashi)
"Approximately 300 criteria must be satisfied to obtain this certification. For example, we reviewed our internal rules and procedures in the process of verifying each item, such as making sure that we had all the manuals and tools needed to respond in an emergency and verifying whether we had established a system to implement the appropriate measures in an emergency." (Yamada)
"We found it to be extremely meaningful to participate in the community organized by the Narita International Airport Corporation through this project. We hope to continue to work with each company to improve the safety of the entire supply chain." (Kobayashi)
Internal competition concerning dangerous goods
"In JAL's Safety and Quality Control Group, we hold an internal competition to test staff members primarily working in the domestic cargo division on their knowledge of dangerous goods. Staff participate in a relaxed atmosphere and reaffirm the correct handling of dangerous goods in a quiz format.
The competition consists of one online round followed by a final round with the top eight highest achievers. The champion is determined through a tournament format. This initiative originally started when we wondered if there was something we could do during COVID, and FY2024 marked the fifth year of competition.
In addition, monthly quizzes on the handling of dangerous goods in domestic cargo were distributed to all staff nationwide during FY2024. Some airports may only handle a small volume of dangerous goods. For that reason, we hope to raise the level of knowledge across JAL." (Funai)
Aiming for further improvements in safety
As explained above, the air transport of lithium batteries, which are dangerous goods, has become a topic that should be addressed through further safety improvements in compliance with strict rules. To conclude, we asked Mr. Funai, Yamada, and Kobayashi about the future outlook for safety in the air transport of lithium batteries.
"Safety is not about saying, 'no accidents have occurred thus far, so we're fine' but about thoroughly investigating to ensure that they continue not to happen in the future. Instead of being satisfied with the present situation, we will aim higher and further increase the level of safety awareness of our staff around the world." (Yamada)
"The basics of transporting dangerous goods are about correctly handling them in accordance with the rules. First, we address the issues that emerged in daily handling operations and the process to obtain the CEIV Lithium Batteries certification while also implementing new measures such as the introduction of fire-resistant equipment (containers and bags)." (Funai)
"The rules for transporting lithium batteries are becoming stricter every year, such that business operators who have not implemented sufficient safety measures will find themselves unable to participate in the sector. As e-commerce continues to grow, and with demand for the transportation of lithium batteries expected to grow at an accelerated pace, JAL will continue to lead the world and strive to improve safety." (Kobayashi)
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