The American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the U.S. member body to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) requests feedback on a proposed new ISO technical committee on lithium. ANSI requests that all interested U.S. parties review the proposal and submit comments by April 3, 2020.
As the lightest alkali metal element, lithium has been widely used in a variety of applications for many years, including glass, ceramics, petrochemical, metallurgy, textile, synthetic, rubber, and lubricating materials. As the proposal document explains, the application of lithiumrecognized as the 21st century energy metalis growing in the fields of battery energy, aerospace, and nuclear. To support these industries, countries including the U.S., Australia, and Canada have boosted lithium production in recent years.
As a response to this growth, the Standardization Administration of China (SAC), the ISO national member body for China, has submitted the proposal to ISO for a new ISO technical committee on lithium, with a focus on:
Standardization in the field of lithium mining, concentration, extraction, separation and conversion to useful lithium compounds/materials (including oxides, salts, metals, master alloys, lithium-ion battery materials, etc.). The work program includes terminology, technical conditions of delivery to overcome transport difficulties, unified testing and analysis methods to improve the general quality of lithium products. Batteries are excluded from the proposal, as a battery is a component and not a material, which can be directly used in electric vehicles, digital cameras, electric motorcycles, etc.
Please review the proposal and submit comments to Steven Cornish, ANSI senior director of international policy, at [email protected], by close of business on April 3, 2020.
Based on input received from U.S. stakeholders, a recommended ANSI position and any comments will be developed and presented at the ANSI ISO Committee (AIC) for approval before ISO's voting deadline of May 16, 2020.
ANSI has published an explanatory information document outlining the process used to develop U.S. positions on issues and activities under consideration by ISO and IEC.