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4 ways to identify fraudulent lithium-ion batteries!

Sep 15

In an industry with counterfeit batteries wrapped in shiny new packaging, oftentimes, a lot of us fall prey to fake lithium-ion batteries. In fact, what lures us as consumers are big discounts and flashy photos that blind us from the truth that’s hidden behind these so-called cheap branded batteries.

Now, since the art of counterfeiting has become quite precise, let’s save you the trouble and enlighten you with four ways you can identify the difference between fraudulent and genuine lithium-ion batteries.

1). Shorter Jelly Roll

If your battery has a Shorter Jelly Roll, that means it’s definitely falling short of something. As shown in the CT scan below - the fraudulent battery on the left has approximately 20% shorter jellyroll in comparison to the genuine battery on the right. This means that it precisely has lower cell capacity and discharge rate capability. Furthermore, the deconstruction of the fraudulent cell also shows heavily delaminated electrodes that demonstrate poor coating adhesion and low cell quality. Also, no protection circuit was found in or on the battery, as was claimed. One online forum also reported that opening up a 18650 lithium-ion cell of this brand name led to finding a smaller pouch cell on the inside!

Figure 2: A) Fraudulent battery that has approximately 20% shorter jellyroll compared to B) Genuine battery

2.) Top-Cap Identification

Yes! Put on your thinking caps because top cap identification does exist. Each lithium-ion battery brand has its own specific top cap. You can recognize the manufacturer by looking at its unique top cap as shown below. This cap is not easy to counterfeit and a counterfeiter would need a very cheap way to completely take the battery apart and put it together again with a low (undetectable) amount of damage.

18650 Top Cap Compare, picture credit to Batterybro.

3.) Burn Marks, Scratches and Rust Spots.

The Burn Mark: As shown in the image below, this battery shows a burn mark, which must have been very hot to scorch the steel and burn away the plastic washer. This battery was sold as a new VTC5 but is certainly not and should be recycled.

Scratches:

Scratches are a clear sign of wear and tear. If your battery has scratches, it means that it has been used before. Observe the picture below to see how the entire negative cell is scratched to an extent where the scratches have reached the rim of the battery. This battery was being sold as a new Sony VTC5 – but is obviously not.

Rust spots:

Rust is a sign of corrosion which means that the battery sold to you is certainly not a new battery but is sadly a really old battery. Again, as shown in the picture, this cell was being sold as a new VTC5 too.

4.) Misspelt Wordsy

Spelling errors often make it evident that the product you have purchased is counterfeit. So read a few lines printed on your battery because that’s the most common sign of a fraudulent product.

Besides the stated methods, spotting fraudulent batteries also include identifying manufacturing date codes, recognizing size, weight and colour differences, and so on. So the next time you purchase lithium-ion batteries, make sure you purchase from a trusted and reputed vendor and save yourself the trouble by keeping the aforementioned factors in mind!

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