Industrial Handheld Batteries
Slim, sealed Li-Po packs for scanners, terminals, readers and inspection devices — where every millimeter belongs to optics, not the battery cavity.
The handheld market where pouch beats cylindrical.
We ship custom Li-Po pouches (1,500–8,000 mAh) and 2S smart packs into barcode scanners, mobile data terminals, RFID readers, line-of-business POS handhelds, borescopes, thermal cameras and ruggedised field tablets. Polymer wins here because the housing is IP65-sealed and every millimeter of internal volume goes to optics, screen or grip — not to the round cavity a cylindrical pack would need. For the rare devices that already mandate a cylindrical pack, we are not the right supplier.
Slim Li-Po pouch packs for screen-driven handhelds.
For barcode scanners, RFID readers, line-of-business POS handhelds and inspection cameras, our 1S / 2S Li-Po pouch packs (3.7 V or 7.4 V at 1,500 to 5,000 mAh) deliver 6 to 12 hours of duty cycle inside an IP65-sealed housing. Stacked-electrode construction (vs. wound) for drop resilience, 200+ cycle life at 1C charge / 1C discharge, and a low-impedance BMS that keeps the runtime indicator accurate from full to empty.
We size the pack against the actual shift profile: 1 decode / 6 sec for retail scanners, 1 decode / 2 sec for warehouse pickers, continuous Wi-Fi backhaul for mobile data terminals — three very different current draws.
Smart 2S packs with fuel gauge for mobile data terminals.
For 8+ hour shift devices that must show an accurate runtime indicator: our 2S Li-Po smart packs include a Texas Instruments BQ40Z80 or Maxim MAX17320 fuel-gauge IC. SMBus output delivers state-of-charge, cycle count, full-charge capacity, temperature and a host-learned capacity model. Optional SHA-256 authentication IC keeps grey-market packs out of the supply chain.
Hot-swap connector design with gold-flash contacts: under 10-second swap, no host reboot, no data loss. Standard for warehouse pickers, field-service tablets, and retail POS handhelds.
Real platforms, real specs.
| Device | Pack topology | Capacity | Shift / runtime target | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1D / 2D barcode scanner (retail) | 1S Li-Po pouch | 1,500 – 2,500 mAh | 8 h shift, 500 cycles | 40k pcs/mo |
| Long-range 2D scanner (warehouse) | 2S Li-Po smart pack | 2,500 – 4,000 mAh | 12 h hot-swap, 800 cycles | 25k pcs/mo |
| Mobile data terminal (Zebra-class) | 2S Li-Po smart pack + SMBus + auth IC | 3,000 – 5,000 mAh | 10 – 14 h shift, hot-swap, 1,000 cycles | 20k pcs/mo |
| UHF RFID handheld reader | 2S Li-Po pouch | 3,500 – 5,000 mAh | 8 h continuous read, 800 cycles | 15k pcs/mo |
| POS handheld (retail / hospitality) | 1S Li-Po pouch | 2,500 – 4,000 mAh | 10 h shift, 800 cycles | 30k pcs/mo |
| Industrial borescope / inspection cam | 1S Li-Po pouch | 3,000 – 5,000 mAh | 4 – 6 h continuous LED + cam | 10k pcs/mo |
| Handheld thermal imager | 2S Li-Po pouch | 3,500 – 6,000 mAh | 5 – 8 h, -20 to +60 °C ambient | 10k pcs/mo |
| Ruggedised field tablet (7" – 10") | 2S Li-Po smart pack | 5,000 – 8,000 mAh | 10 – 14 h field shift, IP65 housing | 12k pcs/mo |
Six rules that make an industrial pack survive in the field.
A retail-scanner battery fails on drop count. A warehouse-picker pack fails on hot-swap cycles. A field-tablet pack fails on cold-temperature charge. Six engineering decisions cover all three failure modes.
Stacked-electrode construction
Stacked-electrode pouches (vs. the cheaper wound construction) survive 1.5 m drop tests onto concrete because the cell can flex with the housing instead of cracking the electrode coil.
SMBus fuel gauge
BQ40Z80 / MAX17320-class fuel gauge with host-learned capacity model. The runtime indicator stays accurate from year 1 to year 3, so the picker / clerk never carries a "dead at 30%" device.
Hot-swap geometry
Gold-flash contacts on the pack lead, spring-loaded host connector, magnetic alignment. Under 10-second swap, no host reboot, no data loss. Critical for 12+ hour warehouse shifts.
Authentication IC
SHA-256 challenge-response on the pack PCB (ATECC608A or BQ34Z100). Stops grey-market refurbished packs from booting on warranty devices and protects the OEM's after-sale revenue.
Wide-temperature electrolyte
-20 °C to +60 °C operating, 75% capacity retention at -20 °C. Critical for outdoor field tablets, cold-chain warehouse pickers and freezer-aisle scanners.
UN 38.3 + IEC 62133-2 + IEC 62133-1
Cell-level + pack-level safety, transport compliance, FCC + CE for radio-embedded handhelds. KC + BIS for Asian-market launches. ROHS + REACH baseline.
What handheld OEMs ask before they commit.
What capacity for a typical barcode scanner?
1,500 to 2,500 mAh at 3.7 V for an 8-hour retail shift (1 decode / 6 to 10 sec). Long-range 2D with always-on aimer + Wi-Fi: 2,500 to 4,000 mAh. Rugged hot-swap warehouse pickers: 2S 7.4 V at 3,000 to 5,000 mAh covering a 12-hour shift with one swap.
Why polymer instead of 18650 cylindrical?
IP65 housings have no spare volume for a round cavity. Pouch cells survive drop tests because they flex with the housing. Smart hot-swap geometry is much easier to build around a flat pack than a cylindrical bar.
Can you include SMBus / I²C fuel gauge?
Yes — BQ27Z561, BQ40Z80, MAX17263 or MAX17320. SoC, cycle count, FCC, temperature, host-learned capacity model. Standard for Zebra / Honeywell / Datalogic-class mobile data terminals.
Drop and ingress resistance?
Stacked-electrode pouch + shock-absorbing foam + TPU bumper. Survives 1.5 m onto concrete. IP65 ingress is delivered at the device housing level; pack contacts use gold-flash leads to resist humid retail / outdoor environments.
How do you prevent counterfeit packs?
SHA-256 authentication IC (ATECC608A or BQ34Z100). The host challenges the pack with a 128-bit nonce on every wake; only a pack signed with the OEM's secret key responds correctly. Stops grey-market refurbished packs from booting on warranty devices.
Certifications?
UN 38.3 (transport), IEC 62133-2:2017 + Amendment 1 (cell), IEC 62133-1 (pack), CE + EU Battery Regulation, FCC at device level, KC 62133 (Korea), BIS (India). Total stack: USD 30 to 50k, 16 to 20 weeks.
Engineering deep-dives.
Polymer Lithium Battery
Pouch chemistry, BMS topology, certification stack.
Explore the pillar →Custom-shaped Li-Po
Non-rectangular cells when the housing dictates geometry.
Explore the pillar →Sizing a Cell from a Power Profile
Convert a duty-cycle trace into a real capacity spec.
Read more →Building the next industrial handheld?
Send the duty cycle, target shift length, hot-swap requirement and certification region — we'll come back with the Li-Po topology, fuel-gauge spec and pack geometry that fits your housing.
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