China Plans on New GB Standards for Lithium-ion Cells and Batteries

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) is unveiling a plan to formulate 4 mandatory national standard (GB) on the safety of lithium ion cells and batteries used in electronic and electrical equipment. Public comments are welcome until June 8, 2024.

As per the plan, the following standards shall be formulated:

GB 31241.1 Safety of lithium ion cells and batteries used in electronic and electrical equipment - Part 1: General requirements
GB 31241.3 Safety of lithium ion cells and batteries used in electronic and electrical equipment - Part 3: Electric tools
GB 31241.4 Safety of lithium ion cells and batteries used in electronic and electrical equipment - Part 4: Toys
GB 31241.5 Safety of lithium ion cells and batteries used in electronic and electrical equipment - Part 5: Household electric appliances

As part of the plan to integrate into a systematic and comprehensive mandatory standard packages for regulating lithium ion cells and batteries, MIIT is considering the following changes:

Standard Number	Standard Name	Scope	Note
GB 31241.1	Safety of lithium ion cells and batteries used in electronic and electrical equipment - Part 1: General requirements	Portable electronic equipment Electric tools Toys Household electric appliances Others	Proposed to formulate a new GB standard on general requirements
GB 31241.2	Safety of lithium ion cells and batteries used in electronic and electrical equipment - Part 2: Portable electronic equipment		Published mandatory GB 31241-2022. Proposed amendment on changing the standard number to GB 31241.2
GB 31241.3	Safety of lithium ion cells and batteries used in electronic and electrical equipment - Part 3: Electric tools	Drilling, such as electric drills, electric hammers, etc.; Securing, such as impact wrenches, electric screwdrivers, etc.; Grinding, such as angle grinder, straight grinder, etc.; Cutting, such as electric saws, etc.; Polishing and other categories, such as heat guns, garden tools, etc.	Published industry standard SJ/T 11808-2022. This plan proposes to upgrade it to GB 31241.3
GB 31241.4	Safety of lithium ion cells and batteries used in electronic and electrical equipment - Part 4: Toys	Include but not limited to products intended for children under 14 years of age to play with, such as: electric toys (electric toy dogs, etc.), video toys (learning machine toys, etc.) and sound and light toys (musical instrument toys, etc.)	Published industry standard SJ/T 11815-2022. This plan proposes to upgrade it to GB 31241.4
GB 31241.5	Safety of lithium ion cells and batteries used in electronic and electrical equipment - Part 5: Household electric appliances	Portable personal hygiene and care appliances such as electric toothbrushes razors, etc. Portable personal health care appliances such as cervical/lumbar massagers, hand warmers, etc. Portable site cleaning appliances such as sweepers, mops, vacuum cleaners, etc. Others such as lighting appliances, purifiers, etc.	Published industry standard SJ/T 11778-2021. This plan proposes to upgrade it to GB 31241.5
GB 31241.6	Safety of lithium ion cells and batteries used in electronic and electrical equipment - Part 6: Electronic cigarettes		Published industry standard SJ/T 11796-2022. Proposed to upgrade it to GB 31241.6

The formulation plan can be accessed here.