The incidents that led to the grounding of the B787 look suspiciously like the potential dangers of adopting L/I batteries that were spelt out by FAA in Special Certification Conditions at
Federal Register, Volume 72 Issue 196 (Thursday, October 11, 2007)
Namely:
In lieu of the requirements of 14 CFR 25.1353(c)(1) through (c)(4),
the following special conditions apply. Lithium ion batteries on the
Boeing Model 787-8 airplane must be designed and installed as follows:
(1) Safe cell temperatures and pressures must be maintained during
any foreseeable charging or discharging condition and during any
failure of the charging or battery monitoring system not shown to be
extremely remote. The lithium ion battery installation must preclude
explosion in the event of those failures.
(2) Design of the lithium ion batteries must preclude the
occurrence of self-sustaining, uncontrolled increases in temperature or
pressure.
(3) No explosive or toxic gases emitted by any lithium ion battery
in normal operation, or as the result of any failure of the battery
charging system, monitoring system, or battery installation not shown
to be extremely remote, may accumulate in hazardous quantities within
the airplane.
(4) Installations of lithium ion batteries must meet the
requirements of 14 CFR 25.863(a) through (d).
(5) No corrosive fluids or gases that may escape from any lithium
ion battery may damage surrounding structure or any adjacent systems,
equipment, or electrical wiring of the airplane in such a way as to
cause a major or more severe failure condition, in accordance with 14
CFR 25.1309(b) and applicable regulatory guidance.
(6) Each lithium ion battery installation must have provisions to
prevent any hazardous effect on structure or essential systems caused
by the maximum amount of heat the battery can generate during a short
circuit of the battery or of its individual cells.
(7) Lithium ion battery installations must have a system to control
the charging rate of the battery automatically, so as to prevent
battery overheating or overcharging, and,
(i) A battery temperature sensing and over-temperature warning
system with a means for automatically disconnecting the battery from
its charging source in the event of an over-temperature condition, or,
(ii) A battery failure sensing and warning system with a means for
automatically disconnecting the battery from its charging source in the
event of battery failure.
(8) Any lithium ion battery installation whose function is required
for safe operation of the airplane must incorporate a monitoring and
warning feature that will provide an indication to the appropriate
flight crewmembers whenever the state-of-charge of the batteries has
fallen below levels considered acceptable for dispatch of the airplane.
(9) The Instructions for Continued Airworthiness required by 14 CFR
25.1529 must contain maintenance requirements for measurements of
battery capacity at appropriate intervals to ensure that batteries
whose function is required for safe operation of the airplane will
perform their intended function as long as the battery is installed in
the airplane. The Instructions for Continued Airworthiness must also
contain procedures for the maintenance of lithium ion batteries in
spares storage to prevent the replacement of batteries whose function
is required for safe operation of the airplane with batteries that have
experienced degraded charge retention ability or other damage due to
prolonged storage at a low state of charge.
Evidently Boeing failed to meet these special conditions and FAA failed to detect the failure