Priority Freight safely flies 158 tonnes of lithium-ion EV batteries from Asia to Europe in just 48 hours

A major European manufacturer had started production of its latest EV when a delay to the supply of lithium-ion batteries threatened to bring production to a halt. Priority Freight was immediately selected to fast-track the crucial shipment via air charter from Shanghai to Europe.

Supply chain issues are a familiar tale across manufacturing industries at present. Some can switch production to another product, or pause small-scale production temporarily, but the car industry doesn’t have that luxury. Vehicle assembly lines are complex and rely on accurate sequencing that cannot be easily reconfigured once the process has begun. So, when a vehicle manufacturer received the news that the power pack for the model in production would not arrive in time, their choices were limited.

One option was for the manufacturer to halt production, close the factory and send home 10,000 workers. Alternatively, they could fly the missing EV batteries in from China with the utmost urgency. The latter was obviously preferable but the manufacturer knew that this would be a complicated process, requiring expert knowledge and support.

Lithium-ion batteries are classed as Dangerous Goods and can pose a safety risk if not prepared and transported in compliance with international regulations. This problem was compounded by the sheer number and weight of batteries needed, and the fact that they could not be stacked to save space on board the aircraft.

So they turned to Priority Freight for help. With access to a variety of aircraft, a global network of agents, experience in shipping Dangerous Goods and multilingual 24/7 support, Priority Freight had the expertise needed and resources to react immediately.

The logistics experts worked in parallel with teams in Europe and Shanghai to rapidly source suitable aircraft. This was a challenging task as air capacity was extremely limited and the appointed carrier had to hold the appropriate licenses to carry large quantities of Dangerous Goods. Lithium-ion batteries are inherently dense and therefore extremely heavy for their size which further narrowed the choice of aircraft. Established international relationships and robust due diligence from every team secured two B777 Freighter aircraft able to handle the volume, weight and distance without layovers. The two aircraft were on the runway in Shanghai within hours and the batteries were split between the two cargo carriers. Each plane departed Shanghai loaded with 138 pallets weighing just short of 79 tonnes.

Priority Freight overcame time and language differences to ensure that the customer was kept up to date with constant progress reports including live tracking of the planes. The cargo arrived at the European airport at 03:35 local time where Priority Freight had arranged a fleet of HGVs waiting to offload the pallets and complete the final part of the journey to the production facility. The EV batteries were delivered to the factory in time to allow production to continue uninterrupted without costly downtime or staff issues.

Neal Williams, CEO at Priority Freight commented, “This was an exceptionally complex and challenging dangerous goods air charter, and one we are delighted to have successfully completed. Moving 158 tonnes of lithium-ion batteries from China to Europe in such a short time frame involved some huge hurdles but the team overcame every obstacle thrown at them to ensure the customer’s supply chain remained intact.

“This project illustrates how, with the right expertise, the safe movement of EV batteries by air is a valid option for manufacturers struggling with supply issues.”