By Sarah Falson
TOKYO: Sony Corporation will initiate a global recall of its lithium-ion battery packs due to mounting concerns that microscopic metal particles included in the Sony batteries in question can short circuit when they come in contact with other parts of the battery cell.
“Typically, a battery pack will simply power off when a cell short circuit occurs,” the company said in a statement.
“However, under certain rare conditions an internal short circuit may lead to cell overheating and potentially flames. The potential for this to occur can be affected by variations in the system configurations found in different notebook computers.”
Toshiba and Fujitsu are the two more recent manufacturers to be affected by the recall, joining Dell, Apple Computer and IBM’s Lenovo, each of which has contributed to a total of over six million recalled Sony batteries.
In its statement, Sony said it is discussing a plan of action with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, and will speak with other government authorities, including those in Australia, as required.
“Sony will consult [also] with its OEM customers that utilise these battery cells and work with those that choose to participate regarding quantity and the scheduling of replacement battery packs.”
So far, all companies involved, including Toshiba, Fujitsu, Dell, Apple Computer and IBM have chosen to comply.