What Is Salt Water?
The salt-water immersion test is an abuse test in which the battery pack is submerged in a conductive salt-water solution, evaluating short circuit, gas release, fire and explosion.
Purpose of Salt Water
The purpose is to verify that the battery pack does not turn into a hazardous event in scenarios such as the vehicle entering flood water or seawater.
Which Products Is Salt Water Applied To?
- Electric vehicle battery packs
- Battery modules
- Battery systems for marine applications
In Which Sectors Is Salt Water Used?
Standards Related to Salt Water
- UL 2580Safety in electric vehicle batteries test
- SAE J2464
- GB 38031
- UN 38.3Transport safety tests on lithium batteries test
- IEC 62133Safety in portable cells and batteries test
- IEC 62619lithium battery safety in industrial applications test
- IEC 62620industrial lithium cells and batteries test
- UL 1642safety in lithium cells test
- UL 2054Safety in home and commercial use batteries test
- ISO 12405Test conditions for electric vehicle lithium battery packs test
- UNECE R100electric vehicle and battery safety test
Salt Water Conditions
- Solution
- Salt concentration defined in the specification (representing seawater)
- Immersion duration
- Defined in the specification; typically on the order of hours
- charging status
- The specimen is taken into the test fully charged
- Safety
- Explosion-protected area, gas venting and extinguishing arrangement
Equipment for Salt Water
- Immersion tank (salt water)
- Temperature and voltage recording
- Gas analysis and venting system
- Remote video monitoring
- Extinguishing equipment
Sample Requirements for Salt Water
- The specimen must be a real, fully charged pack or module
- The test is single-use
- Initial voltage and insulation resistance must be recorded
- A risk assessment is mandatory before the test
Duration of Salt Water
Together with the immersion duration and observation, several days are typically planned.
Salt Water Procedure
- 1The specimen is identified, and voltage and insulation resistance are measured.
- 2Thermocouples are attached and the specimen is lowered into the tank.
- 3It is submerged in the solution at the defined salt concentration.
- 4Temperature, gas release and observations are recorded for the defined duration.
- 5The specimen is removed and the observation period continues.
- 6Physical condition and insulation are assessed.
Salt Water Acceptance Criteria
The acceptance criterion is defined in the specification; typically, the absence of fire and explosion during the test and observation period.
Evaluation of Results
Temperature rise, gas release and enclosure integrity are assessed. Controlled gas venting is acceptable behaviour under some specifications.
Salt Water Report
- Applied specification
- Salt concentration and immersion duration
- Initial state of charge and insulation resistance
- Temperature and observation records
- Video and photographs
Accreditation
EUROLAB holds internationally recognised accreditation obtained from accreditation bodies party to the IAF and ILAC multilateral recognition arrangements, under ISO/IEC 17025 for laboratory testing, ISO/IEC 17020 for inspection and surveillance, and ISO/IEC 17021-1 and ISO/IEC 17065 for system and product certification. This chain ensures the reports and certificates issued are accepted worldwide.
Whether this test can be offered within accredited scope depends on your product and the standard applied; since accreditation is method-based, the scope is confirmed in writing at the quotation stage.
Scope and authorisationsRelated Regulations
- UL 2580
- GB 38031
- Assessments within the scope of UNECE R100
Batarya Testleri — What Does This Testing Field Cover?
The section below describes the field that the Salt Water test belongs to; the conditions and acceptance criteria of this particular test are given in the sections above. The scope specific to your product is confirmed in writing at the quotation stage.
Battery testing answers three separate questions, each with its own body of standards: can the battery be transported, is it safe in use, does it deliver the declared performance? These three questions are often confused with one another, and the confusion has commercial consequences — a market cannot be entered with a transport report, and a shipment cannot be made with a product safety report.
On the transport side, UN 38.3 is a mandatory gate; a battery without that evidence cannot be shipped. On the safety side the application determines what applies: IEC 62133-2 for portable products, IEC 62619 and IEC 63056 for industrial and energy storage applications, UNECE R100, UL 2580 and ISO 6469 for electric vehicles. On the performance side, capacity, internal resistance, cycle life, self-discharge, charge acceptance and temperature-dependent behaviour are measured.
The distinction of LEVEL is essential in this family and is the subject that causes the most argument in the supply chain. Cell, module and pack are assessed separately; a certificate obtained for a cell does not demonstrate the conformity of the pack. Alongside the cells, the behaviour of the pack is determined by the battery management system, the cooling design, the mechanical structure, the interconnection arrangement and insulation coordination. Putting the cell supplier's report into the pack file is a common but inadequate approach.
Thermal runaway and its propagation are the most critical subject in the field. A lithium cell may enter a self-sustaining chemical reaction when damaged or overheated; at that point removing the heat from outside is usually not possible. Modern standards therefore treat thermal runaway of a single cell as an UNAVOIDABLE fault scenario and change the question: does the event propagate to neighbouring cells, what does it release outside the pack, and how much time is left for the user to escape?
In this field the battery management system is assessed not as an electronic board but as a SAFETY FUNCTION. It is shown that overcharge, overdischarge, overcurrent and overtemperature protections actually operate, that the system falls to the safe side in a fault, and that its software has been verified. In industrial and vehicle applications this assessment is tied to functional safety frameworks.
The regulatory side is becoming rapidly more demanding. Battery Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 goes beyond safety and introduces obligations for carbon footprint declaration, recovered content ratio, durability and capacity declaration, the battery passport, and removability for portable batteries. This takes the scope of testing beyond classical safety tests.
Method groups in this field
Electrical abuse
Overcharge, overdischarge, external short circuit, forced discharge and unbalanced charging. This is where it is seen whether the protection circuits actually work.
Mechanical abuse
Vibration, shock, crush, penetration, free fall and tipping. It is monitored whether internal short circuit conditions arise.
Thermal tests
Temperature cycling, thermal shock, high temperature storage, fire exposure and thermal runaway propagation.
Environmental tests
Humidity, low pressure, salt spray and, where required, immersion; these come to the fore in vehicle and outdoor applications.
Performance measurements
Capacity, energy and power, internal resistance, efficiency, cycle life, calendar life and temperature-dependent behaviour.
BMS verification
Verification of protection thresholds, the cell balancing function, communications and fault response.
Commonly confused in this field
- UN 38.3 is not a product safety certificate; it only demonstrates transport conformity.
- A cell certificate does not demonstrate pack conformity. The pack is assessed separately with its own architecture.
- Two packs built from the same cell give different results; cooling, interconnection and mechanical structure are decisive.
- A performance test is not a safety test. A cycle life report does not satisfy safety requirements.
- For an electric vehicle battery, a UL 2580 report and UNECE R100 approval are not the same thing; one is a standards assessment, the other a type approval regime.
- A vehicle battery moved into a second-life application enters a new usage profile; the earlier assessment does not carry over directly.
Which decisions these results support
- Transport conformity and the test summary for shipment
- Product safety declaration and market access
- Performance, durability and carbon footprint declarations under the Battery Regulation
- Assessing the impact of a cell supplier or BMS change
- Site acceptance processes for an energy storage system
Related Tests
Frequently Asked Questions About Salt Water
According to which standard is Salt Water made?
Salt Water is executed in scope UL 2580, SAE J2464 and GB 38031. The limit values and acceptance criteria to be applied are defined in the product standard; The version valid for your product is confirmed in writing at the offer stage.
Which products does Salt Water apply to?
Mainly applied to Electric vehicle battery packs, Battery modules and Battery systems for marine applications. Whether your product is included in the scope is determined by examining its technical specifications and intended use.
Under what conditions is Salt Water done?
The determining parameters are: Solution — Salt concentration defined in the specification (representing seawater), Immersion duration — Defined in the specification; typically on the order of hours and charging status — The specimen is taken into the test fully charged. The full terms are in the "Test Conditions" section on the page and vary depending on the product standard.
What kind of sample is needed for Salt Water?
The specimen must be a real, fully charged pack or module, The test is single-use and Initial voltage and insulation resistance must be recorded. The number of samples is determined according to the product standard and the scope to be reported.
How long does Salt Water take?
Together with the immersion duration and observation, several days are typically planned. This duration belongs to the experiment itself; sample preparation, queuing and reporting are also evaluated. A realistic schedule for your product is given in the offer.
What is the Salt Water result called "appropriate"?
The acceptance criterion is defined in the specification; typically, the absence of fire and explosion during the test and observation period.