Battery knowledge · Vehicle and transport standards
UN 38.3
The United Nations test sequence that every lithium cell and battery must pass before it can be shipped: altitude, thermal cycling, vibration, shock, external short, impact or crush, overcharge and forced discharge. Air shipment of cells also caps state of charge at 30 %. [1] [2]
- Also called
- UN transport test, lithium battery shipping
Example
Vehicle and transport standards: an example situation
Shipping tests and vehicle battery approval tests address different uses; passing one does not automatically satisfy another.
Read UN 38.3 alongside Abuse testing in this context. Deliberately driving cells and packs beyond their limits — overcharge, crush, nail penetration, external short, heating, drop — to see how they fail. Standards define each test and rank the outcome on a hazard scale from no effect to explosion.
Use in Lemonergy
Check issuing organization, edition, scope and market.
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References & further reading
Technical references
- UN Manual of Tests and Criteria, Revision 8
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe · 2023
Technical reference · Dangerous-goods classification tests; subsection 38.3 concerns battery transport testing.
- Manual of Tests and Criteria, Revision 8, Amendment 1
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe · 2025
Technical reference · Amendments to Revision 8, including changes to battery testing in subsection 38.3.