FORM 1:
PROPOSAL FOR A NEW FIELD OF TECHNICAL ACTIVITY
Circulation date2020-02-22

Reference number:(to be given by ISO Central Secretariat)

Closing date for voting
2020-05-16
Proposer
SAC

ISO/TS/P TS/P 284

A proposal for a new field of technical activity shall be submitted to the ISO Central Secretariat,
which will assign it a reference number and process the proposal in accordance with theISO/IEC Directives Part 1, Clause 1.5. The proposer may be a member body of ISO, a technicalcommittee, subcommittee or project committee, the Technical Management Board or a General
Assembly committee, the Secretary-General, a body responsible for managing a certification
system operating under the auspices of ISO, or another international organization with national
body membership. Guidelines for proposing and justifying a new field of technical activity are
given in the ISO/IEC Directives Part 1, Annex C.

Proposal (to be completed by the proposer)
Title of the proposed new committee (The title shall indicate clearly yet concisely thenew field of technical activity which the proposal is intended to cover).
Lithium

Scope statement of the proposed new committee (The scope shall precisely define thelimits of the field of activity. Scopes shall not repeat general aims and principles
governing the work of the organization but shall indicate the specific area concerned).
Standardization in the field of lithium mining, concentration, extraction, separation andconversion to useful lithium compounds/materials (including oxides, salts, metals, masteralloys, lithium-ion battery materials, etc.) The work program includes terminology,
technical conditions of delivery to overcome transport difficulties, unified testing andanalysis methods to improve the general quality of lithium products.
Excluded: Battery
Note: Battery is a component and not a material, which can be directly used in electricvehicles, digital cameras, electric motorcycles, etc.

V01/2019

Form 1: Proposal for a new field of technical activity
Page 2☒The proposer has checked whether the proposed scope of the new committee
overlaps with the scope of any existing ISO committee☐If an overlap or the potential for overlap is identified, the affected committee hasbeen informed and consultation has taken place between proposer and committee
oni. modification/restriction of the scope of the proposal to eliminate the overlap,
ii. potential modification/restriction of the scope of the existing committee toeliminate the overlap.

☐If agreement with the existing committee has not been reached, arguments arepresented in this proposal (under question 7) as to why it should be approved.

Proposed initial programme of work. (The proposed programme of work shallcorrespond to and clearly reflect the aims of the standardization activities and shall,
therefore, show the relationship between the subject proposed. Each item on theprogramme of work shall be defined by both the subject aspect(s) to be standardized(for products, for example, the items would be the types of products, characteristics,
other requirements, data to be supplied, test methods, etc.). Supplementary justification
may be combined with particular items in the programme of work. The proposed
programme of work shall also suggest priorities and target dates.)
The proposer plans to develop three categories standards for lithium, the first category forbasic standards, the second category for testing and analysis methods standards, and thethird category for lithium product standards:
1. Basic standards--Terms and definitions--Packing, marking, transport and storage
2. Testing and analysis methods standards--Chemical analysis of lithium concentrates, metals, compounds and materials--Determination of particle size, specific surface area of lithium concentrates
3. Product standards
Standards of lithium products, from the upstream of elements concentrates to thedownstream of materials, including elements reuse and recycling.
Priorities will be given to the items listed in the first and second categories, because thesame understanding of definitions and common testing methods are essential forproducers and users of lithium globally, and also are the base for development ofinternational lithium standards in the next step.
The proposer would like to set the target date of the NPs by the end of 2020 given that theestablishment of new TC is approved timely.
Standardization of lithium products will start when the definition and testing methods areoutlined.

V01/2019

Form 1: Proposal for a new field of technical activity
Page 3

Indication(s) of the preferred type or types of deliverable(s) to be produced under theproposal (This may be combined with the "Proposed initial programme of work" if moreconvenient).
Deliverables preferred are all ISO International Standards (ISs) and documents at anylevel.
1. ISO standard "Terms and definitions of lithium" and "Designation system oflithium".
2. ISO standard "Packing, marking, transport and storage of lithium products".
3. ISO standards "Method for chemical analysis of lithium ", which will contain a seriesof 11 parts.
4. ISO standards “Methods for chemical analysis of lithium carbonate, lithiumhydroxide monohydrate and lithium chloride ", which will contain a series of 16parts.
5. ISO standards "Methods for chemical analysis of spodumene and lepidolite
concentrates ", which will contain a series of 11 parts.
6. ISO standard “Lithium”.
7. ISO standard “Lithium hydroxide monohydrate”.
8. ISO standard “Spodumene concentrate”.
9. ISO standard “Battery grade lithium carbonate”.

V01/2019

Form 1: Proposal for a new field of technical activity
Page 4A listing of relevant existing documents at the international, regional and nationallevels. (Any known relevant document (such as standards and regulations) shall belisted, regardless of their source and should be accompanied by an indication of theirsignificance.)
There is no ISO standard set to directly describe lithium, but there are a few standards
on lithium-ion battery systems. For example:
1. ISO 12405 “Electrically propelled road vehicles -- Test specification for lithium-ion
traction battery packs and systems” (4 series).
2. ISO 18300:2016 “Electrically propelled vehicles -- Test specifications for lithiumion battery systems combined with lead acid battery or capacitor”.
3. ISO 17546:2016 “Space systems -- Lithium ion battery for space vehicles -Design and verification requirements”.
4. ISO 18243:2017 “Electrically propelled mopeds and motorcycles -- Test
specifications and safety requirements for lithium-ion battery systems”.
Relevant documents are as follows：
ASTM D3561 Standard Test Method for Lithium, Potassium, and Sodium Ions in Brackish
Water, Seawater, and Brines by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry
JIS k8994 lithium sulphate monohydrate
JIS K8627 Lithium carbonate
China has built up a relatively full set of standards for lithium, containing about 100
national standards (GB) and industrial standards (YS).
Chinese national standards, for example:
1. GB/T 4369 Lithium
2. GB/T 20930 Lithium strip
3. GB/T 20252 Lithium cobalt oxide
4. GB/T 8766 Lithium hydroxide monohydrate
5. GB/T 11064 Methods for chemical analysis of lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxidemonohydrate and lithium chloride (16 parts)
6. GB/T 33059 Methods for disposal and recycling of lithium ion battery material wastes.
Chinese industrial standard, for example:
1. YS/T 261 Spodumene concentrate
2. YS/T 638 Lithium carbonate for production of coloured phosphor powder
3. YS/T 509 Methods for chemical analysis of spodumene and lepidolite concentrates (11parts)

V01/2019

Form 1: Proposal for a new field of technical activity
Page 5

A statement from the proposer as to how the proposed work may relate to or impact on
existing work, especially existing ISO and IEC deliverables. (The proposer should
explain how the work differs from apparently similar work, or explain how duplicationand conflict will be minimized. If seemingly similar or related work is already in thescope of other committees of the organization or in other organizations, the proposed
scope shall distinguish between the proposed work and the other work. The proposer
shall indicate whether his or her proposal could be dealt with by widening the scope ofan existing committee or by establishing a new committee.)
Because there is no TC or PC on lithium, its alloys and lithium compounds, directly within
ISO or IEC currently, work of the new lithium and lithium alloys committee, given that it
could be approved, will have no overlap with the existing work of ISO and IEC.
However, lithium can be used as an additive element for the production of magnesiumlithium alloys or aluminium-lithium alloys, and it can also be used to produce lithium-ionbatteries, which are used in electric vehicles or various devices. It is necessary to maintainproper communication with ISO/TC 79 Light metals and their alloys, IEC /TC 21 Secondary
cells and batteries and ISO/TC 22/SC 37 Electrically propelled vehicles, etc.
It should be noted that the new TC concerned about lithium materials and their physicaland chemical properties. The scope of ISO TC 79 does not include upstream added
materials, IEC / TC 21 concerned about battery performance, and ISO TC 22 / SC 37
focuses on the overall safety and performance of the battery system. The scope of thenew TC is different from the existing ISO TCs.

A listing of relevant countries where the subject of the proposal is important to theirnational commercial interests.
Argentina（Litio Minera Argentina S.A., Ganfeng Litio Argentina S.A）
Australia (Talison Lithium Pty Ltd., Galaxy Resources Ltd),
Belgium (Umicore Group),
Bolivia (Yacimientos de Litio Boliviano),Brazil (Mibra mine),
Canada (American Lithium Energy, Nemaska Lithium, Lithium Chile Inc),
Chile (SQM), USA (Albemarle Corp., Livent Corp.),
China (Tianqi lithium Co., Ltd., Ganfeng lithium Co., Ltd.),
Congo (manono lithium mine project),Finland (Keliber project),Germany (Chemetall),India (Manikaran Power Ltd.),
Japan (NICHIA Corp., Sumitomo Metal Mining Co.Ltd,),
Korea (LG Chem., SAMSUNG SDI CO., LTD.),
Mexico (Sonora Corp.),
Portugal (Lusorecursos Portugal Lithium),
Russia (Russian Chemical Smelting Co., Ltd),
Zimbabwe (Kamativi mine).

V01/2019

Form 1: Proposal for a new field of technical activity
Page 6

A listing of relevant external international organizations or internal parties (other ISO
and/or IEC committees) to be engaged as liaisons in the development of thedeliverable(s). (In order to avoid conflict with, or duplication of efforts of, other bodies,
it is important to indicate all points of possible conflict or overlap. The result of anycommunication with other interested bodies shall also be included.)
A liaison with ISO/TC 22/SC 37 Electrically propelled vehicles and IEC /TC 21 Secondary
cells and batteries shall be created.
A liaison with ISO/TC 79 Light metals and their alloys shall be created.

A simple and concise statement identifying and describing relevant affectedstakeholder categories (including small and medium sized enterprises) and how theywill each benefit from or be impacted by the proposed deliverable(s).
At present, manufactories of lithium product, includes Tianqi lithium Co., Ltd., China, SQM,Chile, Albemarle Corp., Livent Corp., USA, Talison Lithium Pty Ltd., Australia, American
Lithium Energy, Canada, etc. Consumption of lithium product, includes Umicore Group,Belgium, Samsung SDI, Korea, NICHIA Corp., Japan, etc. Global lithium market is strong.
The main products are lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, lithium chloride, lithium
metal, etc. Global lithium production is about 280kt lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) in
2018.
There is no doubt that all the stakeholders will benefit from development of international
standards on lithium and lithium alloys terms and definitions, designation system, testing
method, and technical requirements on composition of products, as well as packaging andtransportation, etc., which will help them to reach consensus both in production and trade,
promote exchange of lithium technologies globally, bring out great social value and create
huge potential commercial value.

An expression of commitment from the proposer to provide the committee secretariat if
the proposal succeeds.
China is willing to undertake the work of the new TC secretariat when the proposal isapproved.

V01/2019

Form 1: Proposal for a new field of technical activity
Page 7

Purpose and justification for the proposal. (The purpose and justification for thecreation of a new technical committee shall be made clear and the need forstandardization in this fieldshall be justified. Clause C.4.13.3 of Annex C of the ISO/IEC
Directives, Part 1 contains a menu of suggestions or ideas for possible documentation
to support and purpose and justification of proposals. Proposers should consider thesesuggestions, but they are not limited to them, nor are they required to comply strictlywith them. What is most important is that proposers develop and provide purpose andjustification information that is most relevant to their proposals and that makes asubstantial business case for the market relevance and the need for their proposals.
Thorough, well-developed and robust purpose and justification documentation will leadto more informed consideration of proposals and ultimately their possible success in
the ISO IEC system.)
Lithium is the lightest alkali metal element and has been widely used in the traditional
industrial fields such as glass, ceramics, petrochemical, metallurgy, textile, synthetic
rubber, lubricating materials and medical treatment. In recent years, application of lithium
in the field of battery energy, aerospace and nuclear is growing rapidly. Lithium has
become a very important industrial product of metal, which is well known as the "21stcentury energy metal".
More and more countries have been aware of the importance of lithium in their supply
chains. Some of them, such as USA, Australia, Canada, etc. increased on lithiumproduction in recent years. World lithium supply pattern is now being diversified.
Global lithium resources are mainly distributed in salt lakes and various ores. The salt-lakebrine resources are mainly concentrated in the lithium triangle of South America (Chile,Argentina and Bolivia). The hard rock lithium resources are mainly concentrated inAustralia, Canada and Africa, Congo, Zimbabwe and other countries.
China, South Korea and Japan are major consumers of lithium product. International tradeof lithium product is becoming more frequent.
Spodumene concentrate production capacity exceeds 2000kt in Australia. Lithiumproduction exceeds 100kt LCE in Chile, Argentina and other South American countries.
Lithium production is about 167kt LCE in China.
In summary the purpose for the proposal is to start development of international standards
on lithium materially, to promote production, fair trade and sustainable procurement oflithium globally

Signature of the proposer

Further information to assist with understanding the requirements for the items above can befound in the Directives, Part 1, Annex C.

V01/2019