UKWA Launches Lithium-ion Battery Guidance Note

On 24th September, at our fourth Member Connect Series event in Felixstowe, UKWA published Safe Storage of Small Lithium-Ion Batteries: Guidance for Operators.  The UK Material Handling Association (UKMHA) launched complementary guidance on larger traction batteries alongside it, and both were introduced in a fireside discussion between Clare Bottle, Chief Executive of UKWA, and David Goss, Technical Director of UKMHA.

We know that the safe storage and handling of lithium-ion batteries is of growing importance to UKWA members. Lithium-ion batteries are arriving in warehouses in growing numbers – in tools, laptops, e-bikes, consumer returns and the trucks that move stock around the building. The fire risk associated with incorrect handling or storage of lithium-ion batteries is widely recognised. However, what members told us was missing was a clear, proportionate guidance document highlighting current best practices for the safe storage and handling of these batteries. During the development of this document we drew on established good practice, existing standards and a good deal of member and specialist input. The aim was to make the subject more manageable.

What should operators consider?

We tested each recommendation against one question: does it help a site team decide what to do on a Tuesday morning? The guidance encourages operators to consider:

· inspect batteries on receipt

· segregate them from general stock

· quarantine anything damaged or suspect

· take care over where and how they are charged

· treat evacuation and a call to the Fire and Rescue Service as the first response to a developing fire

Some questions, particularly those of a more complex engineering nature, may be better addressed through your fire risk assessment, a fire engineer and your insurer. The guidance is intended to be proportionate: the considerations for a site holding a handful of tool batteries are likely to differ from those of a returns operation handling large volumes of e-bike packs.

Why two documents?

Lithium-ion batteries of all sizes can, in some circumstances, fail through thermal runaway. This may involve rapid heat, fire, flammable and toxic gases, and the possibility of reignition after an incident appears to be over. However, the practical considerations can differ between, for example, a few boxes of laptop batteries and a forklift traction pack. The energy involved, the charging arrangements and the controls that work on site are all likely to vary. We therefore took the view that two documents, each focused on a particular type of battery, would be more useful to operators than a single general note.

UKWA’s guidance is intended for the smaller batteries most sites store. It does not address EV packs, industrial traction batteries or energy storage systems. Where both types of battery are present, operators should consider using the two notes together.

What to do next

That practical tone carried through the Felixstowe discussion. The conversation covered the issues site teams are already dealing with: handling consumer returns and damaged stock, deciding where batteries can be charged, and how to approach insurers.

If your warehouse holds lithium-ion batteries or runs lithium-ion handling equipment, we encourage you to read the notes and consider them alongside your manufacturer instructions and fire risk assessment. It is sensible to speak to your insurer before changing how, or how many, batteries you store and charge.

The guidance is not legal or professional advice and following it does not guarantee compliance or prevent an incident. Neither note replaces the law, your fire risk assessment or your insurer’s requirements. Duties under the Fire Safety Order and the Health and Safety at Work Act continue to apply, and manufacturers’ instructions should take precedence over our document.

If the documents don’t answer something you’re seeing on the floor, please tell us at enquiries@ukwa.org.uk. Guidance like this only stays useful if it keeps pace with the realities operators face daily.