The Electric Vehicle Industry and the Serious Threat of Battery Counterfeiting: A Major Concern to Address

We all have seen the rate at which the Electronic Vehicles industry is growing. From almost 5 million cars on road in 2018 to being projected around 200 to 500 million vehicles by 2030 on road, this industry is by far the fastest growing industry. Every country wants to get their game up and running in this space as fast as possible. But the major problem when it comes to an industry when the demand is more than supply is that everyone wants to get the materials required to build an EV is the supply of battery.

So lets talk, about the battery used to power and run the EVs. The core materials used in manufacturing these batteries are lithium and other minerals like cobalt, nickel, manganese, graphite and steel. This information might seem a bit outdated but just hang on there as this would build up to a more important topic of discussion i.e., counterfeiting of these batteries. According to Bloomberg, the demand of Li-ion battery is going to increase drastically by 2030. China being one of the biggest players in the market is projected to have around 140 mega-factories by 2030. And here is where one of the main reasons of concern occurs. As China is the biggest producer of these Li-ion batteries, it is also the country that sells the highest number of counterfeit batteries for these vehicles as well.

The above figure is the Bloomberg’s deception of how the demand for these Li-ion batteries will increase by 2030. And from the figure we can also derive that the major chunk of these Li-ion batteries is used by “passenger EVs”. So let’s stop for a second and analyze, who would in that case be the major consumer of these counterfeit batteries.

Using counterfeit has many drawbacks. What happens when your smartphone dies and never switches on again? You go to the service center and get the battery replaced, that’s obvious right. But what if the people dealing with the repair at the service center says that the device is out of warranty and we’ve got options for you. This mainly happens when one visits the service center near to the place. Yes, getting the parts of an electronic device replaced with genuine ones is expensive but worth. Similar is the case with the battery of EV. Today as the market is compatibly smaller than that in the next 10 years, but no different.

Li-ion batteries and cells are in high demand, which has attracted counterfeiters and given birth to illegal copying. Since Li-ion batteries are in such high demand, counterfeit cells and batteries have long been a problem, but they are now more common than ever thanks to this profitable industry. False cells are created by copying actual, high-quality cells and are then sold for a much lesser price. This is done to trick customers into thinking the false product performs as well as or better than the real product. These knockoff goods frequently include imitation or unauthorized brands or logos, inferior materials, and lack any certifications that may allow consumers to distinguish them from legitimate goods. Customers face several health and safety hazards as a result, greatly jeopardizing the items’ performance, quality, and safety.

It might be nearly hard to identify the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), distributors, retailers, and resellers who are in charge of evaluating the safety and quality of the cells and batteries they are using. In certain circumstances, it might be difficult to spot inferior or fake batteries due to the enormous volume of cells that are made and handled. And other times, the sale of the product is done maliciously, placing the financial interests of one person or group ahead of the security of the apparatus and the wellbeing of the user.

According to a Red Points survey of electronic consumers, about 76 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 60 are unaware of the qualities of an authentic product and frequently rely on user comments and reviews when making buying decisions. It’s important to note that 18% of those polled acknowledged to purchasing counterfeit goods — it’s unclear whether they did so on purpose or not — and 40% of them were happy with their purchase. By offering an average performance at a lower price, non-original things can be positioned in the market by choosing higher performance above quality.

Let’s take a simple example of 18650 cell design from three different sources. The table below shows the comparison of cell capacities of 18650 cells that were procured.

Visual inspection reveals that cells from producers A and B are visibly comparable and are marketed and sold under the same brand names and specifications. The disparities between a manufacturer’s rated capacity and measured capacity were only apparent after validation testing. Despite advertising an extremely high capacity of 5000 mAh, Manufacturer C actually delivers just 1200 mAh during testing. Claims like “exceptional performance specifications” and “big bargain” might be a sign of a subpar or fake goods.

To guarantee dependable operation for every Li-ion cell application, high-quality performance must be matched with safety. Built-in safety procedures at the cell level guard against significant losses brought on by unusual situations in cells during use or storage. All three manufacturers’ batteries were charged at 1C with a 12 V cutoff. This test illustrates the efficiency of the cell safety mechanisms and overcharge safeguards provided by CID.

Detecting counterfeit Li-ion cells & batteries

It could be challenging to tell fake goods apart from high-quality, genuine goods. However, the following recommendations may be helpful in spotting fake goods:

1. Visual examination to check for poor quality indicators, such as inaccuracies in printing, misspellings, incorrect label positioning, and indications of shoddy craftsmanship.
2. After purchasing the batteries, it may be helpful to measure the voltage, weight, size, and material quality of the cells and compare them to datasheets made accessible by the original manufacturers.
3. Spotting fraudulent or improper certification labels on batteries and cell packaging.
4. Watching out for costs that are noticeably lower than those of identical genuine items.
5. Procurements delivered quickly. Obtaining cells from OEMs normally takes 6 weeks to 2 months.

Considerations for Avoiding Counterfeit Products

To prevent purchasing fake goods, precautions must be followed. A few simple steps might help you prevent these:

1. Only buy from the OEM or from trustworthy merchants and providers the OEM has approved.
2. To identify and prevent counterfeit goods, inspect the product in great detail.
3. Whenever feasible, request images of the real items from the vendor. Compare the registered trademark with the official logo.
4. Validate the certification label’s legitimacy.

That was it. But as we move ahead into the future of EVs, there are companies heavily invested in solving the problem of counterfeiting of the battery and saving countless number of lives. Technology in the 21st century has been remarkable and with new ones coming our way, we can expect the problem of counterfeiting going down.