Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
Energizer Ultimate Child Shield CR2032 Batteries
4.5
Pros & Cons
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Contain multiple protections against ingestion, including a dye, bitterant coating, and safer construction. -
Have a 12-year shelf life. -
Quality batteries from a reputable maker.
AirTags are great, but I look forward to the day that Apple puts a rechargeable battery inside them. Having a CR2032 button cell that you replace every year sounds good on paper, but button cells are dangerous in practice and can cause absolutely horrific burn injuries if ingested. Despite the rollout of a federal law aimed at making these cells safer, accidental button battery ingestions have increased to over 6,000 a year in the US alone.
Also: You’re using AirTags and other Bluetooth trackers all wrong (and it could cost you)
It’s good to see battery manufacturers are finally taking this issue seriously, with Energizer leading the way.
Safety matters
Reese’s Law is named in memory of Reese Hamsmith, an 18-month-old girl who died in December 2020 after swallowing a button cell battery that had come out of a remote control. Following her death, the Hamsmith family campaigned for tighter safety standards to prevent similar accidents.
The law introduced three safeguards for manufacturers: consumer products had to have child-resistant battery enclosures, button batteries sold individually had to be sold in child-resistant packaging, and product packaging had to have prominent printed warnings.
Also: The only lithium button battery brand I recommend now – for serious safety reasons
However, despite this law, emergency departments have continued to see an increase in pediatric button cell injuries. Given this danger, I think manufacturers should switch to batteries with safety mechanisms that help prevent ingestion and stop injury if the cell is swallowed.
This is where Energizer Ultimate Child Shield Batteries can play a crucial role.
Multi-layered protection
On the prevention front, the first line of defense is the packaging.
Bottom line: good luck getting at these batteries without a cutting tool. Fingernails and teeth don’t stand a chance of opening the packaging. On a good day, I can rip a pack of playing cards by hand, but after a good five minutes I couldn’t tear my way into the packaging.
The only way in is to cut the packaging open.
If a child makes it through the packaging — or, more likely, finds a battery in a device or sees one lying about — the next line of defense is a bitter coating designed to discourage swallowing and instead encourage spitting it out. I’ve got a fair bit of experience with this coating — sold under the Bitrex brand — and it tastes awful. This is the same stuff added to things like bleach and car screen wash fluid (and Nintendo Switch cartridges) to discourage ingestion.
There’s also a video of me using a Bitrex test kit… because… I’m the way I am.
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But what if a kid is smart enough to get into the packaging and determined enough to swallow the battery cell? Here, dye comes into play.
Each cell is marked with a dye activated by contact with saliva (or moisture). This design makes it obvious when a battery has been in someone’s mouth.
I, of course, had to mess about with this dye, and I can attest to the fact that it’s both noticeable and hangs around for a long time — it was visible on my tongue for a few hours, and it was a few days before it came off my hands completely.
If the worst happens
The final line of defense deploys if the button cell is swallowed, and that no-burn technology is a world first for Energizer. A special titanium alloy is added to the battery’s positive terminal. The alloy reacts with bodily fluids, such as saliva and stomach acids, to form an oxide layer that significantly reduces the battery’s ability to output electrical current that causes life-threatening internal burns.
I won’t test this cell by swallowing it, but the relevant patent’s details are here for anyone who wants to learn more.
ZDNET’s buying advice
These multiple layers of defense against ingestion injuries make Energizer Ultimate Child Shield batteries a no-brainer recommendation. Sure, they cost more than the no-name button cells out there, but I’d never recommend those either, because I’ve seen too many die within weeks and products damaged by leaky cells.
Energizer Ultimate Child Shield button cells are available in the super-common CR2032 size found in AirTags, as well as CR2016 and CR2025. A 4-pack is $11.50, but the 10-pack at $18.25 offers a much better deal, and since these batteries have a 12-year shelf life, there’s no problem putting them somewhere safe until you need them. The less commonly used CR2016 and CR2025 only seem to come in 2-packs.
