I’m a senior export lead at Chemfine International, specializing in specialty battery chemicals for over 15 years. In this industry, there is one problem that is both universal and uniquely destructive: moisture-induced clumping. For lithium salts like LiFSI, LiBOB and LiDFOB, this is not a minor inconvenience — it is a fatal flaw that can render an entire shipment completely unusable.

Lithium battery electrolytes require raw materials with moisture levels measured in single-digit parts per million. Even the tiniest amount of water will react with lithium salts to form hydrofluoric acid, which will destroy battery performance and safety. This is the full, first-hand story of how we solved this problem for one of our US clients, and how it completely changed our approach to battery chemical shipping.

The Problem: A Clumped Sample That Should Have Been Perfect
Our relationship with this client began when they reached out to us requesting a 1kg test sample of LiFSI for their R&D lab. At the time, we used what we believed was an industry-standard packaging protocol: high-density polyethylene bags, multiple desiccant packets, and a sealed cardboard outer box. We shipped the sample via air freight to their facility in Rhode Island, confident it would arrive in perfect condition.

A few weeks later, we received a message from the client that stopped me cold. They had opened the sample in their glovebox — an environment controlled to less than 50ppm of water and oxygen — and the product was a solid, rock-hard clump.

"Hi, the sample we received seems to have caught moisture and clumped up. The product was only opened under a glovebox with <50ppm of H2O and O2."
— Our US client
There was no room for argument here. If the product clumped inside a glovebox, the moisture had been introduced before it reached their facility. This was 100% our mistake. I apologized immediately, told the client we would conduct a full root cause analysis, and that we would send a replacement sample at absolutely no cost, with a completely revised packaging solution.

Root Cause Analysis: Why Standard Packaging Fails
We pulled our entire technical and packaging team together to investigate. We tested every step of our process, from production to packaging to shipping, and what we found surprised even our most experienced engineers.

The core issue is a fundamental property of lithium salts: extreme hygroscopicity. LiFSI has such a strong affinity for water that it will pull moisture vapor through almost any plastic material. Even high-density polyethylene, which is considered an excellent moisture barrier, allows tiny amounts of water vapor to pass through over the course of 7-10 days of international shipping.

Desiccants, which work well for most products, are almost useless here. By the time the desiccant has absorbed the moisture that has penetrated the plastic, the lithium salt has already reacted and clumped. We also discovered that the pressure and temperature fluctuations during air freight accelerate this process dramatically, increasing moisture penetration rates by up to 300%.

Our standard packaging was not failing because we cut corners — it was failing because it was never designed for materials this sensitive.

Our Solution: A Three-Layer Hermetic Sealing System
The client mentioned in their message that they had received other lithium salt samples in aluminum bottles that had arrived perfectly. This was our starting point. We worked with our packaging suppliers to develop a completely new, three-layer hermetic sealing system specifically engineered for lithium battery chemicals.

"We would like to get another test sample, but can you place it in an aluminum bottle this time, and seal it with an aluminum pouch?"
— Our US client
Our final solution addresses every point of failure we identified:

Inner layer: Argon-purged aluminum bottle
Aluminum is completely impermeable to water vapor. We fill the bottle with the lithium salt product, then purge it three times with dry argon gas to displace 100% of the air and moisture inside the bottle before sealing it with a crimped metal cap.

Middle layer: Vacuum-sealed aluminum foil pouch
We place the sealed aluminum bottle inside a heavy-duty aluminum foil pouch, then vacuum-seal it to remove all remaining air. This provides a second, redundant moisture barrier.

Outer layer: Reinforced moisture-resistant box
We package the sealed pouch in a reinforced cardboard box with additional desiccants and shock-absorbing foam to protect the bottle during handling and shipping.

We tested this new packaging extensively in our environmental chamber, subjecting it to 6 weeks of temperature cycles between -20°C and 60°C and 90% relative humidity. When we opened the test packages, the product was completely unchanged — no clumping, no moisture absorption, no degradation of any kind.

The Result: From Problem to Long-Term Partnership
We sent the replacement sample using our new packaging, and kept the client updated every step of the way. A few weeks later, we received the message we had been waiting for: the sample had arrived in perfect condition.

Shortly after, the client placed a larger order for four different lithium battery chemicals, all to be shipped using our new packaging system. They also requested DDP shipping terms, which we arranged seamlessly.

Key Note: During one shipment, the sample was transshipped via Hong Kong and the tracking number changed. We notified the client immediately, shared the new tracking number, and followed up daily until the shipment was delivered. This small act of proactive communication did more to build trust than any perfect order ever could.
Today, this client is one of our most valued long-term partners. They source all their specialty lithium salt requirements from us, and have referred us to several other companies in the battery industry.

Final Thoughts: What This Taught Us
This experience completely transformed how we approach battery chemical exports, and it taught us three lessons that we apply to every part of our business today:

Technical details are not optional — they are the product. In the battery industry, packaging is not just a box to put your product in. It is a critical part of the product itself. A failure in packaging is a failure of the product.
Client feedback is your best R&D resource. We would never have developed this packaging system on our own. It was the client's honest feedback that showed us exactly where we were failing, and pointed us towards the solution.
Trust is built when things go wrong. Any supplier can deliver a perfect order. The best suppliers are the ones who take responsibility when things go wrong, fix the problem quickly, and never make the same mistake twice.
We now use this three-layer packaging system for all our lithium salt shipments to every country in the world, and we have not had a single moisture clumping issue since implementing it.

If you are in the battery industry and have struggled with moisture issues when shipping sensitive chemicals, our team at Chemfine is here to help. For more battery chemical export guides and case studies, subscribe to our blog here.