OREANDA-NEWS. April 06, 2012. Sony Corporation (“Sony”) today announced that it has acquired ‘UL Subject 1973’*3 safety standards accreditation in stationary storage batteries from UL (Underwriters Laboratories), an international third-party testing and accreditation institution, for its energy storage system comprised of an energy storage module launched in April 2011 and a controller that controls both charging and discharging in addition to storage battery conservation that was launched in January 2012. This is the world's first*2 energy storage system*1 to obtain this accreditation under ‘UL Subject 1973’ from UL. The energy storage module itself was also granted this accreditation.

ntil now, safety standards for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries were formulated primarily for mobile device applications. Conversely, market trends in recent years have seen an expansion in the large-sized stationary storage battery market for power source backup applications for offices and mobile phone base stations, or for smart grid applications for energy-conservation and peak shifting. It was under these circumstances that UL, a premier global independent safety science company in U.S., newly developed its ‘UL Subject 1973’*3 safety standard for stationary storage batteries that contain lithium-ion rechargeable batteries in October, 2010. Sony promptly applied for compliance testing of this new standard for its energy storage system*1 and energy storage module, and the safety and performance compatibility of these products has been proven.

With its newly-acquired accreditation, Sony hopes that as many consumers as possible will acknowledge the safety and reliability of its storage batteries and energy storage systems. Sony will also work to promote activities that will contribute to the expansion of the stationary storage battery market.

 In addition, the aforementioned energy storage system and energy storage module have also received accreditation for the Japanese domestic safety standard known as ‘SBA (standard established by ‘Battery Association of Japan’),’ and has also been acknowledged as a product eligible for subsidization under the ‘SII (Sustainable Open Innovation Initiative)’*4.

About UL (Underwriters Laboratories)

UL is a premier global independent safety science company with more than 117 years of history. Employing more than 9,000 professionals in over 46 countries, UL has five distinct business units

Product Safety, Environment, Life & Health, Knowledge and Verification Services - to meet the expanding needs of our customers and to deliver on our public safety mission. Additional information about UL may be found at UL.com.

*1 The “IJ1003E” energy storage system comprised of an energy storage module ‘IJ1001M’and a controller ‘IJ1002C’ that controls both charging and discharging in addition to storage battery conservation.
 *2 Current as at the time of this announcement on April 6, 2012, for accreditation from UL as energy storage system.
 *3 ‘UL Subject 1973’: This first issue of the Outline of Investigation for Batteries for Use in Light Electric Rail (LER) Applications and Stationary Applications, Subject 1973, covers batteries for use as energy storage for stationary applications such as for PV, wind turbine storage or for UPS, etc. applications. This outline of investigation also covers light electric rail (LER) applications and stationary rail applications such as rail substations. These batteries are intended for installation within either the rail car or within a sheltered stationary location such as a rail substation.
 *4 The “Sustainable Open Innovation Initiative” promotes technological innovation required by society in a wide range of environmental and energy domains. It was established in 2011 with the objective of encouraging open discussion and leveraging the nation's knowledge to form social systems and projects.