Fire-resistant packaging for lithium-ion batteries in transit, storage and quarantine
Every battery in your supply chain spends time in a carton, on a pallet, in a cage or on a shelf, and that is where a failure is least likely to be noticed and most likely to spread. We manufacture containment bags, pouches and blankets to your dimensions, so the packaging matches the battery rather than the battery being forced into whatever was in stock.
Where the risk actually sits in a supply chain
Battery fires in logistics rarely start with a battery in use. They start with one that was dropped, crushed, short-circuited, poorly packed or returned in unknown condition, sitting in a space with no one watching it. These are the points we supply into.
Inbound freight and import
Containers and pallets arriving with cells and packs of unknown handling history, unpacked into a receiving dock that was never designed around dangerous goods.
Warehouse and distribution centres
Racked stock in volume, often high value and densely packed. Fire and Rescue NSW has published a position statement on lithium battery storage, and sites holding large quantities can attract emergency planning obligations.
Order picking and outbound parcels
Individual devices and packs being boxed at speed. The moment a pack is separated from its original packaging is the moment terminal protection and cushioning are most often lost.
Courier, last mile and fleet
Vans carrying dozens of battery-containing parcels, plus the driver's own devices and the vehicle's own pack. A failure in the load space is a failure in a moving, occupied vehicle.
Returns and reverse logistics
The highest-risk flow in the chain. Returned batteries arrive with no reliable information about whether they were dropped, overcharged, submerged or already swollen, and they are handled by staff, not engineers.
Recycling, waste and end-of-life
Batteries that reach compaction equipment or general waste are a known ignition source in trucks and transfer stations. SafeWork NSW recommends taping terminals before a battery goes into a collection bin.
Retail backrooms and click-and-collect
Customer trade-ins, display stock on charge, and parcels held for collection, all in a space behind a shop floor full of people.
Workshops, repairers and service centres
Packs come out of devices damaged and then wait on a bench for a decision. That waiting period is the highest-risk window on the site.
What we manufacture
Silicone-coated fibreglass and high-silica constructions, with heat-reflective linings where the application calls for it. Every format below can be made to your dimensions and carry your branding.
Flat pouches and document-style bags
Slim bags for phones, tablets, laptops, power banks, drone and camera batteries and tool packs. The format most often ordered in volume for packing benches, retail counters and mail rooms.
Containment bags
Dual-layer bags with heat-reflective lining for e-bike, e-scooter, tool and plant battery packs. Sized from your battery dimensions with clearance built in so the closure actually seals.
Liners and box inserts
Fire-resistant liners cut to a carton, tote, stillage or cage footprint, so containment travels with the unit load rather than being a separate step someone has to remember.
Pallet covers and bulk blankets
Covers sized to a standard or oversize pallet, a racking bay or an accumulation bin. Useful where the constraint is the space the cover has to live in, not the battery itself.
Damaged and recalled stock bags
Heavier bags for the pack that is swollen, dropped, submerged or subject to recall, and now has to sit somewhere until it can be dealt with. Usually ordered with clear labelling.
Branding, labelling and carry bags
Your logo, asset numbering, internal warning wording and handling instructions printed on the item, plus custom PVC carry bags so equipment is stored and found as a set.
Sizes we already run
These are current production sizes, not a catalogue of what is theoretically possible. If one of them fits your application we can quote it quickly, and if none do, we tool to your dimensions.
| Format | Size | Typical application | Construction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flat device pouch | 400 x 280 mm | Laptops to 16 inch, tablets, power banks, tool packs | Silicone-coated fibreglass |
| Compact containment bag | 280 x 185 x 250 mm | Device batteries, small packs, retail counter quarantine | Silicone-coated fibreglass, foil lined |
| Standard containment bag | 420 x 380 x 220 mm | E-bike, e-scooter and tool battery packs, returns bench | Dual layer, heat-reflective lining |
| Compact blanket | 0.5 x 0.6 m | Single cell or small pack, charge point, in-vehicle | Silicone-coated fibreglass, PVC carry bag |
| Small blanket | 0.7 x 1.0 m | Device benches, packing stations, retail counters | Silicone-coated fibreglass, PVC carry bag |
| E-mobility blanket | 2 x 2 m | E-bikes, e-scooters, charging bays | Silicone-coated fibreglass |
| Equipment blanket | 5 x 5 m | Forklifts, pallet jacks, small machinery | Silicone-coated or high silica |
| Vehicle blanket | 8 x 6 m | Passenger vehicles, vehicle decks, large plant | Silicone-coated or high silica |
| Made to specification | Your dimensions | Cartons, totes, cages, pallets, racking bays, odd-shaped packs | Specified to the application |
Every format above is available in either material grade. Sizes are nominal and confirmed on your specification.
Ask for a sample before you commit
For volume lines we would rather you handled the item first. Tell us the format and we will send a sample so you can check the fit, the closure and how it handles on your bench before anyone raises a purchase order.
Two material grades
Every format on this page can be made in either grade. The right choice is usually driven by how often the item could be exposed and what sits next to it, not by picking the highest number on the page.
Standard grade
Silicone-coated fibreglass, rated to 1100 degrees C instantaneous and 550 degrees C continuous. Lighter, lower cost and easier to handle repeatedly, which matters when the item lives on a packing bench or in a returns area and gets used every day.
Heavy-duty grade
High silica, silicone-coated, rated to a 1600 degrees C working temperature at 880 g/m² and 0.75 mm. Built for sustained exposure to very high heat in industrial settings, and for covering something whose failure would take the rest of the building with it.
Independent classification
Our high silica material is classified A2-s1, d0 to EN 13501-1:2018 by SGS, the second-highest European reaction-to-fire classification, with the lowest smoke rating and no flaming droplets. Testing under EN 13823 recorded a fire growth rate of 0 W/s and no lateral flame spread to the edge of the specimen.
How we quote
Custom manufacture is priced per unit against volume, so the two things that move the number are quantity and whether the item is branded. Everything below applies to made-to-specification items. Stocked products are priced as listed.
One-off or volume
We do not hold a fixed minimum. A single item can be made where you need it, priced at a premium because the tooling and setup sit across one unit rather than hundreds. Quantity is what brings the price down.
Lead time
Six weeks from design approval, plus freight. Scheduled and repeat orders against an approved design run shorter, because there is no design stage to repeat.
Volume bands
Unit price steps down as quantity rises. Tell us your annual usage rather than just the first order and we will quote the band that reflects it, with a call-off arrangement if you would rather not hold it all at once.
Branding and setup
Printed logos, asset numbering and custom wording are quoted with the item. Setup is a one-off against the specification, so the second and subsequent orders do not carry it again.
Samples
Samples are available on request for volume enquiries, in a current production size or in your specification once it is approved. We will tell you which is faster for your situation.
Documentation
Material specifications, test reports and safety data sheets are supplied with the order at no extra cost. We are listed on buy.nsw for government and council procurement.
Work health and safety context
This is the part that usually drives the purchase. The obligations below sit with you, not with us, and they are why a documented, correctly sized containment system is easier to defend than an improvised one.
The primary duty of care
Under the Work Health and Safety Act, a PCBU must eliminate or minimise risks to health and safety so far as is reasonably practicable. Where batteries are handled, stored or transported, that includes the foreseeable risk of thermal runaway.
Dangerous goods in transport
Lithium-ion batteries are classified as a Class 9 dangerous good. When they are transported, the Australian Dangerous Goods Code applies. Containment packaging supports your handling controls. It does not substitute for correct dangerous goods packaging, marking and documentation.
Storage quantity thresholds
States treat stored batteries differently once quantities get large. Victoria works through the Dangerous Goods (Storage and Handling) Regulations, Western Australia through its own dangerous goods regulations, and NSW through the WHS Regulation together with Fire and Rescue NSW guidance on larger battery stores. Check where your site sits.
The hierarchy of controls
Containment is not the top of the hierarchy and we will not pretend it is. Sound purchasing, correct chargers, separation distances and inspection come first. Containment reduces the consequence when those controls do not catch a failing cell.
Damaged, defective and recalled cells
These carry materially higher risk and are subject to specific transport restrictions. Isolating them in dedicated containment while you arrange assessment or disposal is a practical control, but confirm the transport rules with your carrier before anything moves.
People, not just equipment
Equipment nobody has been shown how to use is not a control. Our awareness courses cover recognising a failing battery and what to do next, and they suit induction packs for warehouse, courier and returns teams.
How a specification runs
Most of the delay on custom work is spent going back and forth on dimensions and quantities. The brief below captures what we need the first time.
Send the brief
What you are containing, where in the chain it sits, dimensions, quantity and any customer or insurer requirement you have been given. Photographs help more than long descriptions.
We confirm the specification
Material, construction, closure, lining, finished dimensions and the clearance we have added. If a standard product does the job, we will say so rather than sell you a custom one.
Quote and approval
Written quote against your volume band. Production runs six weeks from design approval, and for large rollouts we can quote a first tranche and a scheduled balance. Nothing goes into production until you approve the specification in writing.
Production and supply
Manufactured to the approved specification and supplied with the relevant material documentation for your safety system, insurer or auditor. Approved specifications are held for reorders.
For operators, 3PLs and resellers
Multi-site rollouts
One specification, delivered across depots, branches and DCs, with the same item at every site so procedures and training stay consistent.
Branded and white-label
Your logo, asset numbering and internal warning wording printed on the item. Suits 3PLs supplying their own clients and resellers building it into a service offer.
Procurement documentation
Material specifications, test reports and safety data sheets supplied with the order. We are listed on buy.nsw for government and council procurement.
Scheduled and repeat supply
Once a specification is approved we hold it, so a consumable line like packing pouches can be reordered or scheduled rather than re-specified each time.
What this equipment does, stated plainly
- Containment packaging resists heat and limits how far a fire spreads to what is next to it. It buys time. It does not extinguish a battery in thermal runaway, and no bag, pouch or blanket does.
- Custom items are made from the same materials as our standard range, with the same material test reports behind them. A custom item is not separately certified as a finished product, and we will not describe it as though it were.
- The EN 13501-1 classification is a reaction-to-fire classification of the material, carried out on a submitted sample. The report itself states that it does not represent type approval or certification of the product, and we quote it on that basis.
- This equipment supports your dangerous goods and WHS obligations. It does not replace compliant dangerous goods packaging, marking, documentation or your own risk assessment, and it does not discharge your duty as a PCBU.
- Regulatory thresholds and obligations differ by state and by quantity stored. We supply and specify equipment. We do not provide dangerous goods consulting, fire engineering, installation or hands-on training.
- If a battery is in thermal runaway, get people clear and call 000. Everything we make is about the minutes before that, and about stopping it reaching the next pallet.
Start a specification brief
The more of this you can fill in, the faster we can quote. If you do not have exact dimensions yet, send what you have and we will work it through with you.