Boeing and GS Yuasa, the Japanese firm that makes lithium-ion batteries for the 787 Dreamliner, disagree about what should be included in a package of measures aimed at getting the airliner back in the air, the Wall Street Journal reported.But Boeing commercial planes chief executive Ray Conner told reporters in Tokyo that there was no dispute with GS Yuasa about the proposed solution, adding the plane maker has "a great partnership" with the Kyoto-based battery maker.All 50 of the technologically-advanced 787s in service have been grounded since mid-January after a battery fire on a Japan Airlines 787 in the US and a second battery incident on an All Nippon Airways flight in Japan.GS Yuasa believes the battery fix should include a voltage regulator that could stop electricity from entering the battery, the Journal said, citing government and industry officials.Boeing proposed its fix to the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) last Friday. The previous day, GS Yuasa told the FAA that its laboratory tests indicated a power surge outside the battery, or other external problem, started the failures on the two batteries, according to the newspaper.Boeing's solution included a stronger containment box, a battery with greater cooling capacity and other changes.The FAA confirmed the meeting with GS Yuasa, but gave no details. A GS Yuasa spokesman declined to comment.PERMANENT SOLUTIONFollowing talks with Japan's transport minister Akihiro Ota on Thursday, Boeing's Conner said the company's proposal to the FAA was a permanent solution, not an interim fix."We see nothing in the technology that tells us that it is not the appropriate thing to do. The solution set we put in place provides three layers of protection," he said in response to a reporter's question on whether Boeing would consider dropping the lithium-ion battery from the lightweight Dreamliner."We feel this solution takes into account any possible incident that may occur, any casual factor that could cause an event, and we are very confident we have a fix that will be permanent and allow us to continue with the technology."Earlier, Boeing spokesman Marc Birtel said investigations had not shown that overcharging was a factor, and he noted the 787 had quadruple-redundant protection against overcharging. He did not respond directly to comments about GS Yuasa, but said Boeing was coordinating with key suppliers.No comment was available from Securaplane Technologies, a US unit of Britain's Meggitt, which makes the charger for the 787 batteries. Source: Reuters
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