By François Steichen, Greenwich
Note: this is the second in a series of articles on E-Bikes and their batteries.
E-bikes are a desirable solution to the so-called “Last Mile” problem in transportation, where walking takes too long, but taking the car seems like environmentally-disrespectful overkill.
Yet uncertified E-bike batteries have caused a large number of horrifying runaway fires in the past few years, especially in New York. This issue has only become magnified by huge recent growth in E-bike sales.
Let’s take a look at how consumers have embraced the potential of E-bikes, and how leaders are facing the e-bike battery issue.
Certified E-bike Batteries: the Electropositivity Promise
Batteries based on Lithium are perhaps the most game-changing scientific advance of the past 50 years. They make alternative energy and the “mobility revolution” possible by offering a high-capacity way to store electricity for smartphones, E-Cars, computers, tablets, E-scooters, E-bikes, and appliances.
Picture an oil refinery that has no storage tanks or barrels to put the oil into. The result would be environmental disaster, of course, but also the end of almost all economic production.
Lithium-ion (Li+) batteries are the storage tanks of a future based on renewable energy. Batteries use Lithium because it is the lightest metal on earth, and because it has the highest electropositivity of any element. High electropositivity means that Lithium is extremely good at storing and exchanging electrons, the workhorse function of a battery.
E-bikes Aren’t Just a Fad
E-bike sales have taken off in the past 4 years as consumers see a transportation solution that they can also use as a workout. Ed Mantaring, Manager at Danny’s Bicycles in Noroton Heights, said, “Before Covid, we sold 2 to 3 E-bikes per year. Now, we sell 30-40 per year.”
E-bikes are environmentally-friendly, fun, and very versatile: Do you want to get to the train station/school ASAP, without getting sweaty in your work suit/school clothes? Go ahead and gun the motor. Do you want a non-workout workout? Pedal leisurely in a low gear. If you want some exertion, but don’t need to pretend you’re climbing the Alps in the Tour de France, stick it in a higher gear and work those quads.
Still, many observers view e-bikes as a passing curiosity, or take no interest in them at all. New York City’s Micromobility Action Plan takes the opposite perspective:
“Electric micromobility devices are an increasingly important component of urban transportation systems, reducing pollution and congestion. E-bikes and e-scooters… are essential for those who are employed as delivery workers and rely on this mode of transportation for their livelihoods.”
Are e-bikes limited to urban environments? If anything, suburbs have the potential to be even more suited to e-bikes. One of the common criticisms of suburbs is that one needs a car to go anywhere or do anything. E-bikes are a solution not only for commuters travelling to the train station, but also for teens going to school or to their friends’ houses. They can be used to go shopping. They are a real solution to the Last Mile problem.
Even New York’s deliverista issue is one we will soon be seeing in the suburbs. E-bikes are already making previously unaffordable (because car-based) food delivery a potential new profit-center for suburban restaurants. John Biscogliosi, Vice-President of Danny’s Bicycles, points out that “a fast-food chain from New York City has recently opened operations in a number of Westchester towns, with delivery offered by means of green-colored, cargo e-bikes.”
Biscogliosi adds: “Bike paths along the Bronx River Parkway used to be limited to traditional bikes only; now they accept pedal-assist bikes.”
Even Connecticut State Law allows e-bikes with a maximum speed of 20 MPH to travel along certain paths.
Uncertified E-bike batteries: the Snag
Unfortunately, the electropositivity that makes Lithium attractive as a battery also makes it highly reactive and susceptible to explosion and fire. To prevent such fires, Li+ batteries must be made to exacting standards by skilled labor, using very high-quality materials. That is the main reason why a well-made E-bike with a certified battery can cost $1,200 to $5,000.
In fact, the Li+ containment issue is so important that when the Nobel Committee awarded its Chemistry Prize in 2019 for the Li+ battery’s invention, its citation included not only the American inventor of the battery, but also the Japanese and British/American Laureates who developed a stable Li+ battery.
A properly-manufactured batttery requires extremely strong casing, as well as a series of computer chips (the “electro-controls”) that shut the battery down when overcharging is imminent.
There Oughta be a Law!
Despite the danger posed by uncertified batteries, some consumers will not pay for more expensive, certified bikes because as things currently stand, they don’t have to.
The Federal Government’s extensive regulation on bicycles – 16 CFR 1512 – says nothing about E-bikes or E-bike batteries.
Jimmy Panetta, U.S. Congressman from the 19th District of California (the Central Coast outdoor paradise from San Jose to Paso Robles) introduced the “E-BIKE” Act in March, 2023, giving owners a 30% tax credit on the purchase of a new bike.
So far, the E-BIKE Act has not been passed into law.
In Connecticut, the State has turned the power to regulate E-bikes over to its towns and cities, except for Connecticut Public Act Number 18-165, which governs E-bike safety (but says nothing about E-bike batteries).
While local Fire Departments have been on the case, local communities are only slowly waking to the need for ordinances to fight uncertified batteries.
Greenwich Fire Department Chief Joseph McHugh brings home the point, explaining, “Reconditioned batteries are a challenge. We were forced to jump into [E-battery fire prevention] without any warning, and it was a revelation: E-bikes do not have to be registered, and Amazon ships reconditioned [i.e., uncertified] batteries. There is currently no way for us to stop [such shipments].”
What is being done?
The response to uncertified batteries has not been uniform; instead, it has depended on a piecemeal, grassroots effort.
In 2019 and 2022, Underwriters Laboratory came out with standards that it numbered 2271, 2272, and 2849. These relate to E-bikes, E-scooters, and E-batteries, respectively, and became the industry-wide standard for such equipment.
On December 20, 2022, the Consumer Product Safety Commission brought the certification point home in its letter to 2,000 E-bike manufacturers, stating:
“failure to adhere to UL safety standards 2271, 2272 and 2849 may pose an unreasonable risk to consumers of fire and serious injury or death. The CPSC calls on manufacturers to demonstrate compliance with the standards through certification from an accredited testing laboratory.”
Producers of sub-standard batteries can no longer claim that they have not been given fair warning.
Tomorrow, we look at efforts to fight the uncertified E-bike battery scourge, as well as overreactions to e-bikes and the Lithium-ion batteries in them.
See also:
The E-Bike. Eco-friendly? Or a Menace?