The U.S. Department of Transportation has agreed that PRBA’s petition for rulemaking on lithium batteries and the Materials of Trade provisions in the U.S. hazardous materials regulations (HMR) merits consideration in a future rulemaking. This means the Agency will consider authorizing larger quantities of lithium batteries to be transported under the Materials of Trade provisions, which provide substantial relief from the HMR.
The current Materials of Trade provisions limit lithium batteries and packages to no more than 30 kg, and no more than 200 kg aggregate gross weight of lithium batteries may be contained on a vehicle. PRBA’s petition requests amendments to the Materials of Trade provisions that would authorize of up to 500 kg net weight of lithium batteries and elimination of the 30 kg battery and package limit.
For more information, contact PRBA at [email protected].