Battery KC Certification Testing Laboratory

On August 25, 2008, the Korean Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE) announced that the National Standards Committee would implement a new national unified certification mark, called the "KC Mark," from July 2009 to December 2010. The new mark, KC Mark, stands for Korea Certification. The existing 13 mandatory marks will eventually be consolidated under this new mark. One of the benefits of this initiative is the reduction in certification costs for suppliers, gradually making the KC Mark a world-recognized certification. However, a drawback is that the recently introduced KCC mark will only be in effect for a few years before being unified under the new KC Mark.

Scope of Battery KC Certification

- Single cells (Cell) with an energy density over 400Wh/L

- Battery packs: assembled from parallel or series cells

- Portable lithium cells or batteries with navigation functions, regardless of energy density (for use under harsh conditions inside vehicles)

- Cells and batteries used in portable medical devices, barcode and credit card readers

- Portable devices: MP3 players, electronic dictionaries, PMPs, laptops, digital cameras, etc.

- Excluded: vehicle drive batteries, industrial batteries, medical batteries, or button cells.

Battery KC Certification Testing Items

1. High Temperature Storage Test

2. Temperature Cycling Test

3. External Short Circuit Test

4. Crushing of Cells Test

5. Cell Protection Against a High Charging Rate Test

6. Thermal Abuse Test

KC Certification Application Documents

1. Application form (provided in a fixed format by the testing laboratory)

2. Model name classification table

3. Protection Circuit Module (PCM) specifications (circuit diagram, including IC circuit) (provide specifications if there is a thermistor component)

4. User manual in Korean or English

5. Cell and battery specifications

6. Precautions for transportation and packaging method (can be included in the product specifications)

7. Korean nameplate

8. ISO9001 certificate or a self-declaration of conformity

9. Factory business license (for the initial application factory) (no factory inspection is required for battery safety confirmation)

10. Test samples (30+ finished products with batteries and 55 cells)

11. List of parts

12. CB certificate and IEC62133 test report for cells or batteries

13. CDF list, including specifications for key components like MOSFETs and ICs

14. Sample fixtures