Case Study: Air Delivery of Lithium-Ion Batteries from China to Ukraine

The task: An importer of solar panels and inverters approached Ukrautologistic Group with a request to deliver a consignment of UE-S1-5kWh lithium-ion batteries from China to Ukraine. The consignment was 10 pallets, 10 units each — 100 batteries in total, 5,000 kg gross and 12 cubic meters. Speed mattered to the client: the batteries are part of an energy system that customers expect as a complete set together with the panels and inverters.

Why air freight: Lithium-ion batteries are classified as dangerous goods, hazard class 9 under ADR. Shipping this kind of cargo by sea from China takes months, and there is simply no direct road route for this lane. Despite the higher cost, air freight remains the only realistic option when speed is required. The route ran through Hong Kong — one of the key air hubs for cargo out of China — then by plane to Frankfurt-Hahn in Germany, with road delivery to Zhytomyr as the final leg.

The dangerous goods factor: Preparing lithium-ion batteries for air transport is a separate procedure with heightened requirements: UN-number documentation, special packaging, and clearance with the airline and the destination airport. At Frankfurt-Hahn, the airport raised additional questions about the class 9 documentation — our agents on site resolved them promptly. This added a few days to the overall timeline but did not disrupt the supply.

Result: The cargo covered the entire route — from Hong Kong to Zhytomyr — between August 23 and September 10. Despite the extra formalities at the German airport, the batteries reached the final recipient in full and undamaged. For the client, it confirmed one thing: even hazard class 9 cargo can be delivered quickly by air, provided the logistics partner has experience handling dangerous goods on every leg of the route.