IEC 62133-1 - Battery Design

Secondary Cells and Batteries Containing Alkaline or Other Non-Acid Electrolytes — Safety Requirements for Portable Sealed Secondary Nickel Cells and Batteries

IEC 62133-1 is an international standard published by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) that specifies safety requirements and test methods for portable sealed secondary nickel cells and batteries (NiCd and NiMH) intended for use in portable applications. It is Part 1 of IEC 62133, which was split into two parts in 2017 to separately address nickel-based (Part 1) and lithium-based (Part 2) portable battery systems. The standard defines minimum safety requirements that manufacturers must meet before placing portable nickel batteries on the market in most global markets, and is the baseline reference for IECEE CB scheme certification of NiCd and NiMH portable batteries.

Published by: International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)

Current edition: IEC 62133-1:2017 (1st edition as Part 1, published February 2017)

Replaces: IEC 62133:2012 (2nd edition, unified NiCd/NiMH/Li standard, now split into Part 1 and Part 2)

Companion standard: IEC 62133-2:2017 — Safety requirements for portable sealed secondary lithium cells and batteries

European adoption: EN IEC 62133-1:2021 / BS EN IEC 62133-1:2021

Scope

IEC 62133-1 applies to portable sealed secondary nickel cells and batteries including:

Nickel-cadmium (NiCd): cylindrical, prismatic, and button cells; single cells and multi-cell batteries
Nickel-metal hydride (NiMH): all form factors including high-capacity consumer NiMH cells (e.g., AA, AAA, C, D, sub-C sizes) and custom pack formats
Portable applications: power tools, consumer electronics, medical devices, toys, handheld radios, and similar applications

Exclusions: The standard does not cover lithium cells and batteries (covered by IEC 62133-2), stationary or motive NiCd batteries (covered by IEC 62485 series), or cells not intended for portable applications. Large-format NiMH traction batteries for hybrid vehicles are covered by separate OEM and national standards.

Key Safety Tests

Electrical Abuse Tests

Continuous charging at low rate: cell charged continuously at 0.1 C rate for 28 days — no fire, no explosion, no leakage
Forced overcharge: cell charged at 1 C rate for 2.5 hours — no fire, no explosion; moderate venting permitted
External short circuit: at 20 °C and 55 °C; surface temperature must remain below maximum limits; no fire, no explosion
Forced discharge (overdischarge/reversal): cell discharged beyond zero to negative voltage — no fire, no explosion; single cell within a multi-cell battery string may reverse polarity

Mechanical Abuse Tests

Crush: cells crushed between flat plates at specified force — no fire, no explosion
Free fall: 1.0 m drop onto concrete in defined orientations — no fire, no explosion, no severe leakage
Vibration: sinusoidal vibration per defined spectrum — no mechanical failure, no leakage, no fire
Shock: half-sine shock test — no mechanical failure, no leakage

Environmental Tests

High-temperature/storage: cells stored at 70 °C for defined period — no fire, no explosion, no excessive leakage
Temperature cycling: cells cycled between −20 °C and +60 °C — no mechanical failure, no unacceptable leakage

Certification and Global Requirements

IECEE CB scheme: IEC 62133-1 test reports accepted in 54 member countries for national certification, allowing a single test report to support certification in multiple markets simultaneously
Europe (CE marking): EN IEC 62133-1:2021 provides presumption of conformity with the Machinery Directive (for power tool batteries) and the Radio Equipment Directive (for batteries in radio equipment); batteries in toys must also comply with EN 62133-1 under the Toy Safety Directive
USA: UL 2054 is the primary US safety standard for household and commercial batteries including NiCd and NiMH; many products also reference IEC 62133-1 via CB scheme
Japan: PSE mark (Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Act) required for batteries; IEC 62133-1 test data accepted as basis for PSE certification with supplemental Japanese requirements
China: GB/T 18287 and GB/T 31241 are China’s primary portable battery standards; IEC 62133-1 is used for international CB scheme certification but GB standards required for China market

Related Standards

IEC 62133-2 — Safety requirements for portable sealed secondary lithium cells and batteries (the lithium counterpart; both emerge from the 2017 split of IEC 62133)
IEC 62619 — Safety requirements for secondary lithium cells and batteries for industrial applications (separate scope from 62133-1)
IEC 61960-3 — Performance standard for secondary lithium cells; IEC 62133-1 is the nickel-cell safety counterpart
IEC 62485-1 — Safety requirements for secondary batteries used in portable applications
UL 2054 — Standard for household and commercial batteries (US safety certification standard for NiCd and NiMH batteries)

Disclaimer: This is not a definitive guide, just an indication and it is important that you always go back to the source for legislation.