IEC 60086-4:2025 specifies tests and requirements for primary lithium batteries to ensure their safe operation under intended use and reasonably foreseeable misuse.
This sixth edition cancels and replaces the fifth edition published in 2019. This edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the previous edition:
- Added definitions for leakage and venting, in addition to the test criteria;
- Revised overdischarge test;
- Revised marking requirements;
- Revised criteria for the child resistant packaging test;
- Changed the purpose of Annex F from "informative" to "normative";
- Added a new Annex G with additional measures against misuse of batteries not intended for consumer replacement;
- Integrated the contents of Interpretation Sheet 1 (IEC 60086-4:2019/ISH1:2020);
- In Clause 3, terms were reordered according their functions: basic terms, electrochemical systems, battery shapes, battery sizes, electrical characteristics, specifications, safety aspects, failure modes;
- In 6.4.4, the exemption for the shock acceleration for lithium primary batteries was reduced from 12 kg to 4,482 kg in order to reflect the fact that this is the threshold in IEC 62281, Test T-4, where the peak acceleration decreases below 150 gn.
