Battery Safety Campaign

We need your support to end the sale of unsafe lithium-ion batteries.

Our campaign addresses the alarming rise in deaths and injuries resulting from fires and explosions caused by substandard e-scooter and e-bike batteries.

This campaign already has the support of more than 500 local councils and almost 100 organisations, including prominent voices such as the National Fire Chiefs Council, Which? and Zurich. 

 

 

Lightning Bolt

What's the issue?

  • Fires caused by substandard lithium-ion batteries in e-scooters and e-bikes have multiplied fourfold since 2020.

  • These fires, which are happening across the whole of the UK, result in deaths, hospitalisations, homelessness, and staggering financial losses.

  • The UK is facing a disturbing projection of an average of almost one e-bike or e-scooter fire per day.

Our campaign asks

  • Safety Assurance. A third-party safety assessment, conducted by a government-approved body, for all e-bikes, e-scooters, and their lithium-ion batteries before they enter the UK market. This process mirrors safety measures in place for other high-risk products like fireworks and heavy machinery.
  • Comprehensive Fire Safety. The Government is to assign responsibility to comprehensively addressing fire-related concerns. This involves enhancing safe usage, charging, and storage practices for these devices. It includes setting standards for conversion kits and charging systems and considering a temporary ban on the sale of universal chargers that heighten fire risks.
  • Online Marketplaces. A clear and enforceable duty on online marketplaces, and clearer definition of key terms to provide confidence for consumers, businesses, and the online marketplaces themselves together with the extension of liability for defective products to online marketplaces, particularly those sold by third party sellers. This will ensure all existing and future online marketplaces and products cannot take advantage of gaps to avoid responsibility.
  • Responsible Disposal. The Government to make regulations ensuring the safe disposal of lithium batteries once their lifecycle ends.

Read our Battery Breakdown report

Battery safety and stability depend on maintaining internal temperatures within specific limits. Poor quality and substandard components, flawed design, physical abuse and improper charging or discharging can all cause a battery to become thermally unstable and can lead to catastrophic failure.

Battery Breakdown examines the cause of these dangerous fires and recommends how safety can be improved.

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