IEEE aims for better laptop batteries

Stuart Corner
Wednesday, 08 November 2006 04:00

Business IT - Technology

The IEEE has responded to the recent spate of exploding laptop batteries by announcing a review of its standard for Rechargeable Batteries for Portable Computing (IEEE 1625), including development of compliance programme and compliance mark. It says the review will seek to address what it euphemistically refers to as "recent calls to make these systems more reliable and robust."

The current standard was approved in 2004 and the review will also seek to achieve improvement in the overall performance of laptop battery systems.

According to IEEE, standard IEEE 1625 "guides the industry in planning and implementing controls for battery design and manufacture. It also defines approaches for evaluating and qualifying such batteries, verifying their quality and reliability, and educating and communicating with end users."

The standard looks not just at the battery but at the laptop environment in which it is used. It "encompasses such areas as battery pack electrical and mechanical construction, cell chemistries, packaging, pack and cell controls, and overall system considerations."

The revised standard, a part of the IEEE Livium family of battery standards, will be created within the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) Corporate Program. The project is expected to be completed within 18 months. Edward Rashba, manager, new technical programs at the IEEE-SA, said the review would incorporate lessons learned in developing the IEEE 1725 standard for cellphone batteries. "We have an opportunity to further strengthen the Livium portfolio, which already incorporates hundreds of man-hours of technical work and represents consensus views on best practices from leading industry experts."

According to Rashba, "The leading laptop OEMs and battery manufacturers such as Apple, Dell, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel, Lenovo, Panasonic, Sanyo, and Sony have indicated strong interest to participate."

In addition to revising the technical aspects of the standard the working group is also looking at including specifications to establish procedures for assessing compliance to the standard.

"We believe that the IEEE-SA and its 1625 Working Group, working with IEEE-ISTO (IEEE Industry Standards and Technology Organisation) and other organisations, should evaluate compliance and enable marking for consumer recognition," said Chuck Adams of IBM who chairs the Corporate Advisory Group at IEEE-SA. He noted that the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) has recently created a compliance program for cellphone batteries based on the IEEE 1725 standard.

The 1625 working group will meet bi-monthly in the US and Asia to complete the work. The first working group meeting is scheduled for 15 and 16 November at Intel in Santa Clara, California. A follow-on meeting is planned for 16 to 18 January 2007 in Japan.