E-Bike Batteries Keep Exploding. What’s the Solution?

There have been over 200 battery fires from e-bikes and e-scooters this year alone according to New York’s Fire Department.

Now, the city is trying to figure out how to prevent these fires from happening.

But trying to do so without impacting the thousands of delivery workers that rely on these devices for a living is challenging.

So why are e-bike and e-scooter fires becoming a bigger problem? And what can be done to stop them?

0:00 - E-bikes and E-Scooters keep catching fire.
1:26 - Here’s how battery fires start
3:06 - How can you prevent an e-bike fire?
3:58 - New York’s $1m investment into public charging hubs.

Illustration: George Downs

#eBike #eScooter #georgedowns

[TruckeeDoggo]

Video suggests that public charging places (outside residences) is the answer to avoid residential fires. But crime in cities like NYC is so rampant that e-bike owners will not want to park their bikes in a public place, for hours, unattended. Your bike is going to get stripped for parts, similar to the plague of stolen catalytic converters from cars.

[E-BikingAdventures]

I do deliveries on my ebikes and I can tell you that driving back to a charging hub and pluging in for 10 mins before I get another delivery is not going to work for me. It takes 6 hours to charge my batteries.

[spiker]

The manufacturers should be required to have the batteries UL certified before they can import them to the US

[hjehje]

When I visited China in late 2023 I read an atricle on this subject. There are huge numbers of electric bikes and scooters on the roads and many apartment buildings won't allow them to be charged in the building due to potential fire issues. Since the crime rate is low people often charge their bikes and scooters outside. The article stated that the government will promote the use of sodium based batteries. Sodium based replacement batteries are safe and are expected to be rolled out early this year with a significant cost reduction of 60 to 70 percent, compared to the current cost of lithium based batteries, when the batteries are produced in large volume. Also, the sodium based batteries perform much better in extreme weather conditions.

[grazz]

I have 2 e-scooters. Total of 3 (one I gave away to a friend). It is true what the video is saying about over use and the batteries getting too hot or over worked. I only use my scooters for basic transportation each way to and from work. When I charge, I put the charger on a timer (7 hours). The BMS (battery management system) should shut it off automatically, but just for a precaution, I put the timer on to prevent over charging. I also turn a fan on to keep the battery and the charger cool while charging. Simple precautions like that go a long way.

[mollyalicebreuill]

I was a seller of the lithium-ion e-bike battery before. I deeply know how important raw materials like the battery cell holder and the pure nickel and the quality of the battery cell and the battery management system to prevent the battery from burning. please remind to confirm the battery cell brand before you purchase it and check the history of the factory, whether they are new built or for a long time.

[SkaterStimm]

I design my own batteries and they are designed in a way that are much safer than the average battery in a e-bike. Thicker cable, better BMS units, higher quality insulators, etc. I hope laws won't limit my ability to make a safer battery for my own use.

[orbitaljellyfish]

Trouble with public chargers is the batteries and bikes are super expensive, and slow to charge. They need fire-containment lockers and people will need a second battery to use while the first one charges.

[php]

Apartment blocks owners should do two things: Provide a secure non combustible bike storage shed or secured parking corral for bikes and prohibit E Bike storage in apartment/condo suites.

[petertaylor]

LFP batteries have a much better record of not catching fire...These are ternary batteries.

[niksutliff]

Isn't it because they're effectively abandoned on the sidewalks for long periods of time? Exposure to sunlight, heat, and now cold / rain / ice cannot be good for cheap batteries in these devices

[AirDOGGe]

It may be that lipo packs will have to be stored in some sort of metal enclosure instead of plastic battery cases. My E-bike sits in and gets charged in an insulated shed 20 feet from the house. Worse I can lose is several bicycles if it blows.

[JINKJ]

I never charge my battery overnight/sleeping also see people being heavy handed with them or dropping them which is not good for lithium batteries.

[alecgolas]

E-bikes are super awesome and it's a shame that these fires are occurring.

[sgil]

Just got notice from my CO-op board that ebikes are now banned in the building effective immediately. Gonna miss my little electric beauty - gets me to and from work year-round. Which is worse owning an ebike or buying into a CO-OP?

[tafifish]

About a week ago my entire garage went up in flames because one of my electric bike batteries exploded while plugged into the wall. Ever since then I’ve been trying to do as much research as I can on the history of these batteries exploding. I really hope we can all convince our cities and local governments to have stricter regulations on the manufacturing of these electric bike parts; so that people like me, as well as the general public, can feel safe using electrified bicycles. These lithium ion batteries are a lot more dangerous than most people realize, and I think soon this is going to become a bigger and bigger issue so we need to start coming up with solutions fast.

[truthiscensored]

What some EUC (Electric Unicycle) companies and dealers are doing is putting a Samsung batteries and/or Smart BMS (Battery Management System) to manage the battery and keep from overheating/overcharging during charging. Have not been many EUC fires since.

Most of those fires are from cheap and/or NO Name e-bike and e-scooter brands that people buy on Amazon. They see they can have the same specifications as a $2000 Well Known Brand Scooter/e-bike for ONLY $600, so they buy and end up burning their house down

[Krusty-klej]

The scarier part is, people will be inclined to charge inside in the winter season as the colder weather is pretty restrictive on charging. This will be an interesting winter here in Winnipeg as these units are popping up everywhere.

[Someoneelse]

You can't control the unlikely event that your battery might explode but you can control what else will catch fire. Always store and charge your battery in a safe place away from other flammable materials so the fire can't spread.

[xtraxtrareadallaboutit]

Fire Safety boxes for charging/storing etc is the best bet