AT A GLANCE
As lithium-ion batteries power more of how we live, work, and move, the risk of thermal runaway—leading to smoke, fire, or explosion—is harder to ignore. This report examines how the Rechargeable Society reshapes daily life, its emerging safety challenges, and the vital role of standards, education, and public awareness.
- Rechargeable batteries have become essential, bringing battery safety into new parts of everyday life, with 98% of consumers owning at least one rechargeable device.
- Batteries are evolving from consumer products to include critical infrastructure. Battery energy storage systems are increasingly being used in homes and data centers.
- Battery safety risks are growing as consumer awareness lags behind adoption. Only 43% know what a lithium-ion battery is and 59% are unfamiliar with ways to reduce thermal runaway risk.
- The growth of e-commerce is making counterfeit and substandard battery products harder to identify yet easier to buy. More than half (56%) of consumers report purchasing rechargeable products from online marketplaces where differences can be even more difficult to spot.
The Rechargeable Society is Here
Rechargeable products have reached near-universal adoption, with nearly every American consumer (98%) owning at least one rechargeable product, and the average person owning nine battery-powered devices. This level of adoption underscores the degree to which rechargeable technologies have become essential infrastructure for modern living rather than optional conveniences.
The Rechargeable Society: Building Trust in a Battery-Powered World
Jeff Marootian, President and CEO of UL Standards & Engagement
Aviation cargo shipments carrying rechargeable batteries and products are increasing as e-commerce, consumer electronics demand, and advanced manufacturing drive greater movement of goods worldwide. U.S. lithium-ion battery imports increased 7x between 2018 and 2023. The growing movement of batteries in the global supply chain reflects society’s increasing dependence on rechargeable technologies.
The average consumer owns…
9
rechargeable devices
Batteries Are Becoming Infrastructure
Batteries are no longer limited to phones and laptops. They now power homes, transportation systems, data centers, and the electric grid. The importance of battery energy storage systems (BESS) is expected to increase as society continues to electrify and as digital infrastructure expands.
“As BESS installations increase in size, they can concentrate significant amounts of stored energy in one place. That does not make them inherently unsafe, but it does increase the importance of proper design, testing, installation, monitoring, and emergency planning to help manage the consequences of a potential failure.”
– Dr. Denice Durrant, Senior Director of Applied Sciences
Home battery storage is growing, as nearly 1 in 10 homeowners (9%) report having installed a BESS in their homes, while energy utilization by data centers alone expanded 80% from 2020 to 2025, according to the International Energy Agency. Battery storage is becoming foundational to energy resilience, renewable integration, and AI-driven digital infrastructure. With that growing importance comes a shared responsibility to ensure these systems are designed, tested, installed, and operated safely.
Energy Resilience Is Driving Adoption
69%
of homeowners with a BESS want backup power during outages
63%
of homeowners with a BESS want lower energy bills
57%
of homeowners with a BESS want less reliance on the grid
The Rise of Electric Mobility
Transportation represents another major driver of the Rechargeable Society. Battery-powered mobility options continue to gain traction across multiple categories. As adoption grows, so does the importance of ensuring that consumers understand how to use, charge, and store these products safely. Yet 17% of EV owners and 21% of PHEV owners said they did not receive battery safety or charging guidance from their vehicle manufacturer or dealership. Among e-bike owners, 49% said they store devices in locations that could block an exit during a fire, and 26% admit to charging devices unattended while away from home.
Hover over each device to learn about ownership trends from ULSE data, from April 2025 to April 2026.
Electric Bikes
Ownership increased
from 19.2 million
to 21.6 million people
Electric Scooters
Ownership increased
from 16.8 million
to 21.6 million people
Plug-in Hybrid EVs
Ownership increased 9.6 million to 12 million from Oct. 2025 – Apr. 2026
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A Striking Finding
Most participants reported that they did not think about battery safety when purchasing their e-bike. Instead, consumers tended to focus on factors such as cost, battery life, charging performance, battery installation, and battery location. When discussing e-bike safety, participants were more likely to mention physical or road safety concerns than battery-related risks.
Dr. Emily Brimsek, Senior Manager of Qualitative Insights
The Risk is Outpacing Awareness
increase in thermal runaway incidents in air cargo between between 2021 and 2025
Nowhere is the risk becoming more visible or more acute than in air travel. Thermal runaway incidents on passenger aircraft increased 15%, rising from 107 incidents in 2024 to 123 incidents in 2025, according to ULSE research. Airlines are now experiencing an average of 2.36 incidents per week. The trend is also visible in cargo operations. Thermal runaway incidents in air cargo increased approximately 40% between 2021 and 2025, reflecting the growing number of lithium-ion batteries moving through global supply chains.
Despite these developments, public awareness remains limited. Only 9% of U.S. adults report hearing about an aircraft thermal runaway incident, a figure that has trended slightly downward even as incidents have increased. While incidents remain low compared to the number of products in use, the consequences can be significant when safe practices are not understood or followed.
“Consumers want to make informed decisions, but many told us they struggled with finding clear, accessible information about lithium-ion batteries,” says Brimsek. “Even basic questions around what products contain them, what risks they pose, how to travel with them, and how to maintain them often require significant research. They are often also left without instructions for managing batteries that are damaged, defective, recalled, or showing signs of thermal runaway.”
– Dr. Emily Brimsek, Senior Manager of Qualitative Insights
CASE STUDY:
An Example of City Action Toward Battery Safety
New York City provides one of the clearest illustrations of the challenge.
Over the course of just a few years, NYC proved the value of products certified to safety standards. After a surge in e-mobility fires that led to injuries, deaths, and property damage totaling as much as an estimated $518.6 million between 2019 and 2023, the city required devices sold, rented, or leased within its borders to be certified to three ULSE safety standards.
In addition, the city launched public education campaigns, inspections, and enforcement efforts to help reduce the number of deaths and injuries linked to e-bike battery fires. The law was enacted in 2023 as the number of deaths from e-mobility fires in New York City reached an annual peak of 18. In only two years following the enactment of the law, deaths fell to one.
Consumers Are Becoming Risk Multiplers
Millions of consumers are reliant on lithium-ion battery-powered technologies, yet many remain unfamiliar with the associated risks and the steps necessary to reduce them. As a result, consumers can unknowingly become risk multipliers, creating conditions that elevate the likelihood and severity of thermal runaway incidents.
What Consumers Do with Product Recalls
Recall data provides an important indication that many battery incidents are foreseeable and preventable. Nearly 3 in 4 consumers (74%) report to not return a rechargeable product because of a recall. Recall data indicates an important lesson: many battery failures are not surprises; they are unheeded warnings. Standards can reduce failures before they occur and education can support safer actions when recalls are issued.
74%
report to not return a rechargeable product because of a recall
13%
continued using the recalled product
28%
obtained a replacement product
17%
stopped using the product but didn’t return it
Knowledge Gaps Create the Foundation for Risk
Consumers are more dependent upon lithium-ion batteries than ever before, yet many remain unaware that they power the technologies they rely on every day. Batteries that power these devices are largely viewed as invisible components rather than technologies that warranted independent evaluation.
Research participants routinely described evaluating products based on performance, price, convenience, battery life, charging speed, or brand reputation, while rarely considering battery safety. Many also believe that thermal runaway will not happen to them. Knowledge gaps are compounded by another powerful risk factor: perceived invulnerability.
58%
of consumers are unaware that lithium-ion batteries power many of the products they routinely use.
59%
say they are unfamiliar with strategies that can reduce the risk of thermal runaway.
43%
of consumers say they do not know what a lithium-ion battery is according to a ULSE survey.
44%
of consumer feel personally at risk of lithium-ion batteries overheating, whether from their own products or those owned by others.
Counterfeit and Substandard Products Distort Risk
As rechargeable products continue to become more pervasive, consumers increasingly face a marketplace where legitimate products compete alongside counterfeit, substandard, refurbished, modified, and otherwise less safe alternatives. Consumers shopping online typically evaluate products using ratings, reviews, appearance, specifications, and price. Safety certifications, battery sourcing, manufacturer verification, and testing records are rarely front-and-center in purchasing decisions.
56%
of consumer purchase rechargeable products through online marketplaces such as Amazon or eBay
66%
of consumers prefer purchasing rechargeable products based primarily on finding the best available price or promotion.
26%
purchase rechargeable devices from discount international platforms such as Temu or AliExpress.
57%
say brand reputation is the single most important purchase factor, but 49% say low price remains a major driver.
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Online Shopping and Consumer Awareness
“Lots of consumers shop online, where third-party and less reputable sellers are more easily reaching buyers with counterfeit and substandard products that may be harder to distinguish on screen than in person. And the consequences of purchasing an imitation, that could possibly be lower-cost, rechargeable product can directly risk your safety.”
– Wilbert Fletcher, Principal Standards Engineer
Battery Disposal Decisions Create Additional Risks
The consumer’s role as a risk multiplier extends beyond product use and into end-of-life management. Among ULSE interview participants who experienced thermal runaway incidents, uncertainty around disposal of batteries was widespread. The result? Thousands of batteries end up in garbage trucks and landfills every year, where they spark fires that endanger workers and communities.
36%
of consumers are either unsure or believe it is safe to throw lithium-ion batteries in
household trash.
44%
believe batteries should remain inside devices when those devices are recycled.
.
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Battery Disposal Decisions Create Additional Risks
“The biggest challenge is not an absence of recycling options,” says Caitlin D’Onofrio, ULSE senior manager of sustainability standards.
“It is that millions of consumers don’t know what to recycle, where to take it, or when they should.”
Building Trust in a Rechargeable Society
Products that have been certified to safety standards help provide assurance that critical design, performance, and safety requirements have been independently assessed. When standards are ignored, the risk can include battery failure, fire, property damage, and injury, underscoring the vital role safety standards play in building trust in our increasingly Rechargeable Society.
Video
Safety Standards
Safety standards are a critical tool in helping to make rechargeable batteries (and the products that rely on them) safer for consumers, before they even begin using them. These standards act like instruction manuals that help guide the testing of products, services, and systems.
Dr. Denice Durrant, Senior Director of Applied Sciences
Consumers too have a role in making informed purchasing decisions. Approaching battery-powered products as educated consumers, paying particular attention to areas of outsized risk, such as products from unfamiliar sellers and refurbished devices, is a critical start. If it seems too good to be true, it most likely is.
As battery ownership expands and new applications emerge, the opportunity is clear: by pairing innovation with safety, industry and policymakers can help ensure that consumers continue to benefit from the convenience, resilience, and sustainability that rechargeable technologies provide with safety in mind.
Trust is built when people can confidently adopt and rely on the technologies that power modern life — and that trust begins with a commitment to safety from owners across the battery lifecycle.
Download the full report to see more data and details, as well as strategies to reduce the risk, methodology, and additional insights.
