(Updated) Grounded Boeing 787 Dreamliners Use Lithium-Ion Batteries Made by a Japanese Company

(UPDATE) Nikkei Shinbun has an article that lists airlines that have received Boeing 787 Dreamliner, aka Nightmare-liner, and how many. They are not whom you may expect:

All Nippon Airways (NH, Japan): 17
Japan Airlines (JL, Japan): 7
United Airlines (UA, USA): 6
Air India (AI, India): 5
Qatar Airways, (QA, Qatar): 5
Ethiopian Airlines (ET, Ethiopia): 4
LAN Airlines (LA, Chile): 3
Polish Airlines (LO, Poland): 2

Total 49

Hmmm.

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The battery manufacturer GS Yuasa, based in Kyoto Prefecture, uses lithium cobalt oxide electrodes which are apparently prone to overheating.

From MIT Technology Review (1/16/2013):

Grounded Boeing 787 Dreamliners Use Batteries Prone to Overheating

A fire last week and a forced landing today have brought the possibility of such problems to the forefront.

By Kevin Bullis on January 16, 2013

(Image of the lithium-ion battery that caught fire on board JAL's 787)

Two major safety incidents involving Boeing 787 Dreamliners have caused two Japanese airlines to ground their fleets of the aircraft. The problems may be linked to a battery chemistry that’s particularly prone to causing fires.

Earlier today, a plane in Japan was forced to make an emergency landing after reports of a battery warning light and burning smell. Last week, a battery caught fire on a plane on the ground in Boston. In both cases, the problems may be related to Boeing’s decision to use a kind of lithium-ion battery chemistry that overheats and catches fire more readily than others.

It’s not yet clear whether the problems in the 787s originated with the batteries. Faults in the electronic controls have been implicated in other lithium-ion battery fires. According to reports, inspectors found liquid leaking from the 787’s batteries after the forced landing in Japan today. The battery was also discolored, but it wasn’t clear if it had caught fire.

...Boeing’s 787 is the first commercial aircraft to use lithium-ion batteries, according to GS Yuasa, the Japanese battery manufacturer that supplies the batteries. The company also supplies batteries for the International Space Station and electric railcars, among other applications.

The chemistry—and safety—of lithium-ion batteries varies. According to GS Yuasa’s website, the batteries it uses for Boeing’s 787 use lithium cobalt oxide electrodes. These are known for high-energy storage capacity, but other battery chemistries, such as lithium iron phosphate, are more resistant to overheating. Because of safety concerns, many electric vehicle makers have shifted to alternative chemistries, sacrificing some energy storage capacity.

...According to GS Yuasa, its battery for the 787 “comes with battery management electronics which guarantees multiple levels of safety features.” A specification sheet for the batteries warns, “Inappropriate handling or application of the cells can result in reduced cell life and performance, electrolyte leakage, high cell temperatures, and even the possibility of smoke generation and fire.”

(Full article at the link)

GS Yuasa's websites (English and Japanese) do not have any statement about the JAL or ANA incidents.

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