Lithium battery recalls soar as fire hazards spread to everyday products

Safety recalls for lithium-ion batteries have surged nearly 300%, as dangerous fire risks spread from backyard power tools into home storage walls and baby nurseries.

Data from Product Safety Australia and the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission reveals that lithium battery recalls have soared 280% in the past four years. They now account for 7.6% of all product recalls – up from 1.7% in 2022.

The Albanese government has been encouraging Australians to go electric via its ‘Cheaper Home Batteries’ scheme.

Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water’s renewable certificate schemes branch head Paul Johnson conceded the scheme – which was initially forecast to cost $2.3bn but its budget was tripled to meet demand – was “too generous”.

Brian Craighead – chief executive of Energy Renaissance, which developed a cybersecurity battery with the CSIRO before entering voluntary administration last year – warned Chinese manufacturers would “dump” home batteries on Australia in the wake of Donald Trump’s trade with Beijing.

While Chinese manufacturers have issued recall notices, some Tesla batteries have also been faulty. Last year, Tesla identified certain lithium-ion battery cells from a third-party supplier in a subset of Powerwall 2 systems that may fail and overheat. It remotely discharged affected batteries after informing customers via its app.

“Tesla has received reports of Powerwall 2 units with the affected battery cells smoking or emitting flames, resulting in minor property damage,” the company said in its recall notice, which was updated in August, adding no injuries had been reported.

“Most affected units have already been remotely discharged by Tesla. While the risk of overheating is now very low, if it does occur, it may lead to a fire that could cause serious injury, death or damage to property.”

It said affected units will be replaced at no cost, and it would “consider compensation for lost energy savings from discharged Powerwall 2 systems on a case by case basis”.

A recent fire in Redfern, Sydney, sparked by an e-Bike destroyed a terrace house and forced the evacuation of two other homes. Pic as appeared in The Australian

Manny Carbone, partner and personal injury expert at Melbourne-based Carbone Lawyers, said the risk extended across an “enormous range of commonly used products in Australian homes” – and he had seen videos of fires that lithium batteries had sparked in baby nurseries.

“We have seen a significant increase in claims involving lithium-ion batteries in everyday household products, including mobile phones, portable chargers and lamps and, alarmingly, even devices used in babies’ rooms, such as monitors,” Carbone said.

Carbone said of last year’s battery recall notices, 79% of 2025 incidents resulting in damage or injury.

“These fires are particularly dangerous because the chemical reaction can make the initial flames extremely difficult, if not impossible, to extinguish,” Carbone said.

“In some cases, they have caused extensive damage to homes and catastrophic injuries, including severe burns. Even where people have escaped physical harm, many have suffered significant psychological injuries, including PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder).”

Carbone Lawyers partner Manny Carbone. Pic as appeared in The Australian

One of the biggest risks is the use of powerbanks. Carbone said he wouldn’t have any in his home, given they are “disproportionately represented in product liability claims”.

“Because they are often carried in a pocket, bag or held close to the body, a failure can cause catastrophic injuries,” he said.

“I would also be extremely cautious about lithium-ion batteries in products used in babies’ rooms, including monitors. If one of these devices ignites in a nursery, the consequences can be devastating for a child who cannot move away from the danger or protect themselves. I have seen harrowing footage provided by clients of monitors igniting in nurseries.”

Former Tesla engineer Jay Manley – who worked on the Powerwall 2 and has since founded MP Space in Sydney that makes batteries for satellites and spacecraft – said regulation and standards should focus on demonstrated safety outcomes rather than prescribing specific engineering solutions.

He said rooftop solar previously mandated DC isolators – switches in plastic boxes near solar panels – highlighted how a “safety feature became a significant source of fires.”

“On the broader issue of unsafe batteries, we need to strike the right balance between regulation that improves safety and regulation that unnecessarily adds cost, and therefore hinders productivity,” Manley said.

“Safety standards have traditionally focused heavily on batteries when new. Ageing-related failure modes are harder to capture, and testing for safety degradation over a battery’s lifetime is still evolving. A battery needs to remain safe after years of use, not just on day one.”

This article first appeared in The Australian as Lithium battery recalls soar as fire hazards spread to these everyday household products.

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