October 12, 2024: Lead batteries major, East Penn Manufacturing, announced on October 1 that its reserve power battery offering had been certified to UL1973.

This makes it the first company with lead battery manufacturing in the US to be certified to this safety standard for its entire line of telecommunications, UPS, utilities and railway products.

Having batteries certified to UL1973 is an instant recognition that UL has acknowledged East Penn’s products to perform to specified levels within critical safety tests. The types of tests include overcharging, impact, and overcharging thermal runaway.

Batteries with UL1973 certification surpass the need for the multiple safety tests for many other standards, codes, and certifications that are becoming more broadly adopted and stringently enforced by customers and government regulatory agencies.

Also under the NFPA855 2023 standard, UL1973 certified batteries are allowed to be grouped in 250kWh configurations compared to non-certified product, which is limited to 50kWh units that require three feet of spacing on all sides.

“Being the first company with battery manufacturing in the US to offer the UL1973 certification for lead batteries to our reserve power customers is a significant accomplishment for our division and East Penn,” said Bruce Cole, SVP of industrial sales.

“We appreciate the dedicated collaboration between UL and our team to truly understand the safety characteristics of this battery technology in these types of applications.”