Aircraft Safety: Airbus to regulators: We don't need Boeing's steel lithium ion battery box- by Steve Wilhelm

Airbus will follow Boeing’s lead and power its new A350 widebody jets with lithium ion batteries, but the company does not want to put the batteries in a steel box like Boeing did.

Airbus says its batteries are smaller and safer than Boeing's original Dreamliner design, which was plagued by problems when it was first launched. Airbus now wants to switch from a heavier nickel cadmium battery it has been using to the lighter lithium ion ones.

Flight Global this week reported Airbus is nearing regulatory approval for its lithium ion batteries, but the company is still arguing its design is safer than Boeing’s and that Airbus therefore won’t need to put the batteries inside heavy steel boxes.

“If you start to put a huge coffin around the battery system in place then you lose all the benefit of the lithium ion battery,” Airbus Executive Vice-President of Engineering Charles Champion, told Flight Global.

The entire fleet of 50 active Boeing 787s was grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration Jan. 16, 2013, after a battery aboard an All Nippon Airways Dreamliner overheated and charred, forcing an emergency landing in Japan. That was preceded by a Jan. 7, 2013 battery fire on a Japan Airlines 787 Dreamliner at Boston’s Logan airport.

Boeing (NYSE: BA) began adding steel boxes around the batteries as a condition for continuing to use lithium ion batteries in the Dreamliners.

While Boeing’s fix made some changes to the inner structure of twin eight-cell lithium ion batteries, the biggest change was to house each in a stainless steel box, vented to the outside of the jet, that would contain any future overheating incident.

After that, Airbus punted its own lithium ion battery plans by temporarily using heavier and more traditional nickel cadmium batteries on the competing A350. Airbus decided to switch to the nickel cadmium around the time Boeing was struggling with its Dreamliner batteries.

Now, though, Airbus is about to make the switch as it pits the A350 against the Dreamliner, and airlines push manufacturers to develop the most fuel-efficient planes possible. Airbus delivered the first A350 in December.

Read more: Airbus to regulators: We don't need Boeing's steel lithium ion battery box - Puget Sound Business Journal

Aircraft Industry: Boeing Dreamliner Batteries Need More Testing: US Safety Watchdog says

Boeing Dreamliner continues to be plagued by problems

The U.S. agency that investigates air crashes on Thursday called for lithium-ion batteries on Boeing's 787 Dreamliners to undergo more testing to ensure they are safe. 

The National Transportation Safety Board urged the Federal Aviation Administration to develop better tests for the uncontrolled overheating that led to a battery fire on a Dreamliner in 2013, require Boeing to conduct the tests, and check whether 787s, and possibly other planes, need more testing to ensure their lithium batteries are safe. 

The NTSB stopped short of calling the batteries or planes unsafe. Lithium-based batteries are widely used in cars, laptops and smartphones and have a tendency to overheat through processes that are not well understood by scientists. 

The NTSB has not yet determined a root cause for the 787 fire that occurred in Boston in January 2013. Two other 787 batteries have since overheated, one in January 2014, and regulators grounded the 787 fleet for three months last year while Boeing designed a steel containment box meant to stifle battery fires on the innovative jet. 

Boeing said it supports efforts to improve certification standards. The FAA was not immediately available to comment. 

Boeing also said the tests it conducted in overhauling the 787 battery system last year "are fully consistent with the recommendations made by the NTSB today. We therefore remain confident in the safety and integrity of the comprehensive battery solution which was developed by Boeing, and approved by the FAA, last year."

In calling for the changes before the fire investigation ends, the NTSB signaled that safety could be improved and pressed the FAA to move forward without delay.

Read more: Boeing Dreamliner Batteries Need More Testing: Safety Watchdog - NBC News.com