It was a bad call by Boeing and now "lithium batteries" have a bad rap
Unjustified, unnecessary
Accident investigators have traced a fire that destroyed a UPS Boeing 747 in the United Arab Emirates in 2010 to the lithium batteries being carried in the cargo hold. Unless something is done to prevent similar disasters, the FAA now says such crashes are all but inevitable in the future.
UPS 747 Crash Highlights Lithium Battery Danger | Flying Magazine
It would seem issue with Li batteries pre-dated the 787 issues by several years...