The Chinese power bank industry is currently facing an unprecedented safety crisis with industry leaders Anker Innovation and Romoss issuing large-scale recall notices involving over 2 million products domestically and internationally. Investigations have traced the root of the recalls to quality issues with a common battery core supplier, whose multiple 3C certifications have been suspended or revoked by authorities, triggering a chain reaction across the industry affecting several power bank brands.
Anker Innovation, a major player in the Chinese power bank industry, announced on June 20th that it would be recalling a total of 71,294 units of model numbers A1642, A1647, A1652, A1680, A1681, A1689, and A1257 due to safety concerns related to certain batches of power banks provided by a supplier with unauthorized material changes in the battery cores. This alteration could potentially lead to insulation failure in a small number of products after extended use, resulting in overheating and even combustion.
Based in Changsha, Hunan Province, Anker Innovation specializes in products such as mobile chargers and power banks. Prior to this, Anker Innovation had initiated a larger-scale recall in the United States.
On June 12th, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) revealed that the Anker PowerCore 10000 power bank had a potential fire hazard due to lithium-ion battery issues, resulting in a recall of 1.158 million units. Statistics showed that the product had been involved in 19 fire and explosion incidents, leading to injuries and property damage.
Similarly, Romoss, a technology company based in Shenzhen, issued a recall notice on June 16th for 491,745 units of mobile power banks under model numbers PAC20-272, PAC20-392, and PLT20A-152. Romoss cited material quality issues in the battery cores as the reason for the recall, which could potentially cause overheating and a risk of combustion in extreme cases.
This recall incident has exposed systemic issues in the supply chain of the Chinese power bank industry.
Reports from multiple sources including 21st Century Business Herald, Daily Economic News, and The Paper revealed that the large-scale recall event is not limited to a single brand but involves systemic problems across the entire supply chain. Several sources pointed to battery core supplier Amperex Technology (Wuxi) Co., Ltd. as the root of the issue, providing battery core products to multiple well-known power bank brands.
Since battery cores are crucial components of mobile power banks, most brand manufacturers rely on professional suppliers for their procurement.
According to the China Certification & Accreditation Information Public Service Platform, all of Amperex Technology’s battery core 3C certificates have been suspended or revoked, with the majority occurring in June this year. This indicates that the corresponding battery cores of its models are no longer available for supply or use.
The suspended items related to Amperex Technology include rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, rechargeable lithium-polymer battery cores, rechargeable lithium-ion battery cores, lithium-ion batteries, and more.
More concerning is that this supply chain issue has affected several renowned brands. Apart from Anker Innovation and Romoss, several Chinese mobile power bank manufacturers such as Ugreen and Baseus have also seen their 3C certifications suspended or revoked.
For example, the 3C certification for Anker Innovation’s recalled model A1680 power bank was revoked as early as March 28th this year. The certificates for Romoss’ recalled models PAC20-272 and PAC20-392 were changed to “suspended” on April 29th. Issues with certification of products from Ugreen and Baseus can be traced back to late March and late April.
Recent incidents of power banks overheating on airplanes in China have also raised concerns.
Public sources reported that on June 13th, a flight from Zhoushan to Jieyang experienced a power bank smoking incident with smoke filling the cabin; on May 31st, a flight from Hangzhou to Shenzhen had to return due to camera batteries and a power bank smoking; on March 20th, a flight from Hangzhou to Hong Kong made an emergency landing due to a power bank overheating incident, and the power bank was confirmed to be a Romoss brand.
Currently, Shenzhen Bao’an Airport has begun to focus on inspecting power bank models on the recall list, and passengers are prohibited from bringing Romoss’ recalled power bank models on board flights.
Apart from the aviation sector, safety incidents related to power banks on campuses have also become a focal point of concern. According to reports from media outlets like Yangtze Evening News, several universities in Beijing recently issued notices to students to stop using Romoss brand power banks.
Students from multiple Beijing universities took to social media to share that the campus security department had issued an emergency notice: “Under the directive of higher authorities, it has been discovered that the 20,000mAh Romoss brand chargers are more prone to explosions during charging compared to other models. If you possess and use one, it is advised to discontinue usage immediately to prevent any potential danger.”
Staff at Beijing United University confirmed that there have indeed been incidents of the mentioned power bank brand exploding and catching fire on campus, with the likelihood of self-combustion being relatively higher. Similar cases of self-combustion involving the same brand and model power banks were also reported at the Communication University of China.