The Gradual, Painful Course of Of Eliminating The Sale Of Harmful E-Bike Batteries

E-bike batteries have a nasty behavior of catching fireplace and killing individuals as they sleep. Not surprisingly, this makes some individuals nervous about proudly owning an e-bike, which is a foul factor if you’re an advocate for extra battery-operated transportation decisions, which we right here at CleanTechnica positively are.

The issue appears to be most acute in New York Metropolis, the place individuals within the gig economic system depend on e-bikes and different battery-powered gadgets to make a residing. Typically, they’re utilized by multiple individual, which suggests they’re in virtually fixed use and are being charged much more typically than regular.

An e-bike typically has solely a rudimentary battery administration system (if it has any in any respect). A correct BMS retains monitor of the state of well being of the battery cells in a battery pack. It displays inner temperatures and shuts down charging if a possible fault is detected.

A lot of the work a BMS ought to do is dealt with by the charger that comes with an e-bike. Every is designed to work with the battery pack it got here with by supplying the right voltage and amperage wanted to recharge the battery. If the fallacious charger is plugged in, dangerous issues can occur. If there are a number of individuals sharing the identical residing quarters and all of them have e-bikes from completely different producers, the possibilities of utilizing the fallacious charger will increase considerably.

Native Legislation 39 Targets E-Bike Fires

New York Metropolis is trying to handle the e-bike fireplace state of affairs. Earlier this yr, its metropolis council handed Native Legislation 39, which makes it unlawful for anybody to promote battery-powered mobility gadgets or their batteries to New York Metropolis residents that don’t meet sure security requirements.

The new legislation is kind of easy. It states, “This invoice would prohibit the sale, lease, or rental of powered mobility gadgets, resembling e-bikes and electrical scooters, and storage batteries for these gadgets, that fail to satisfy acknowledged security requirements. The primary violation of this legislation could be met with a warning, however subsequent violations would carry civil penalties of as much as $1,000 per violating system.”

However what are “acknowledged security requirements?” In response to Streetsblog, that language means solely battery-powered mobility gadgets and batteries which might be authorised by Underwriters Laboratory (UL) are thought of to be in compliance with the New York Metropolis requirement. (Additionally see our in depth podcast above about this.)

However there’s a drawback. Amazon, Walmart, and eBay have been ignoring the brand new legislation and promoting non-compliant e-bikes and substitute batteries on-line. Now StreetBlog says Amazon is partially complying by not promoting unapproved batteries any extra. Walmart and eBay have merely ignored Native Legislation 39 to this point. All three firms proceed providing each unlawful e-bikes and mopeds for as little as $500 in addition to uncertified batteries for as little as $219 to residents of New York’s 5 boroughs.

An E-Bike Stop & Desist Letter

Amazon’s determination to cease promoting e-bike batteries that lack UL certification apparently took place after the NYC Division of Shopper and Employee Safety despatched a stop and desist letter to the corporate in October. The mammoth on-line advertising and marketing firm actually is aware of find out how to not promote banned gadgets to New Yorkers. It won’t ship gadgets resembling toy weapons or bear repellent spray to any ZIP code inside the metropolis limits. Why it’s nonetheless promoting uncertified e-bikes and mopeds is unclear.

Walmart and eBay proceed to promote these gadgets in addition to substitute batteries that aren’t UL licensed. It’s unknown if these firms have additionally obtained stop and desist letters. Since Native Legislation 39 went into impact, inspectors from the Shopper and Employee Safety workplace have been making common visits to bike retailers within the metropolis to establish unsafe merchandise on the market on the premises.

Meet PopWheels

The letter to Amazon was prompted by Baruch Herzfeld, the founding father of PopWheels, a battery swapping service for supply riders that payments itself as “a various group of entrepreneurs, hustlers, nerds, bike individuals, and extra. What we share is a love of supply staff and immigrants and a ardour for e-bikes.” It says utilizing its battery swapping providers can save supply riders cash and assist preserve them protected.

• Save Cash — Supply staff save $500/yr or extra with PopWheels, with no upfront prices, upkeep charges, or pricey batteries and charging tools.
• Earn Extra — By no means finish a shift early as a result of your battery is sort of out of juice. With PopWheels, your subsequent full battery is at all times across the nook.
• Experience Safely — With PopWheels, you’ll be able to have peace of thoughts. Our batteries are licensed and maintained in-house to make sure no hazard of fireside or different dangers.

Herzfeld initially noticed the illicit gadgets on the market by Amazon and alerted Streetsblog. “We congratulate Amazon on its determination to partially adjust to elements of Native Legislation 39, and we expect it is a important step ahead in fireplace security in New York Metropolis,” he mentioned, including that a much bigger a part of the answer to the disaster of lethal fires sparked by the shoddy energy packs could be guaranteeing that the supply staff have entry to protected storage and charging.

A invoice launched earlier this yr to create a citywide “purchase again” program that might enable supply staff to trade defective or second-hand lithium-ion batteries for protected, licensed batteries handed the Metropolis Council in September however has but to be applied. A plan to open e-bike charging stations at choose areas within the metropolis can be going through pushback.

New York Metropolis Housing Authority complexes are anticipated to begin getting e-bike chargers by the tip of this yr, Adams introduced this previous summer time. “Nevertheless, till supply staff shouldn’t have to take care of or cost their very own batteries, NYC’s fireplace disaster won’t go away,” mentioned Herzfeld.

The Takeaway

E-bike batteries are a catastrophe ready to occur. In idea, nobody would purchase an uncertified e-bike, moped, or substitute battery any greater than they might purchase a automobile that failed to satisfy crash testing requirements.

There aren’t any correct numbers on e-bike imports, however the Gentle Electrical Car Affiliation estimates about 880,000 of them had been imported to the U.S. in 2021 — double the quantity imported in 2020, and thrice the entire from 2019. There are estimated to be greater than 500,000 hoverboards whizzing round in America. Extra gadgets means extra fires, consultants say, particularly for the reason that business is comparatively new and unregulated, and there are a whole lot of completely different firms and merchandise available on the market.

The excellent news is that accountable firms like Rad Energy are beginning to solely promote merchandise that meet UL requirements. However there are too many others who’re promoting substandard merchandise powered by second-rate batteries. It appears protected to imagine these batteries come from second- or third-tier producers whose merchandise aren’t ok to be used in vehicles or vitality storage techniques.

One of the best ways to make the issue go away will not be by authorities regulation however by educated shoppers who refuse to purchase substandard merchandise simply to avoid wasting a couple of bucks. To paraphrase Nancy Reagan, simply say no to an e-bike or battery that doesn’t come from a good producer and doesn’t have the UL seal of approval. It’s that easy.