Owners of e-bikes and e-scooters in Wiltshire are being urged to avoid dangerous batteries and chargers

Lithium-ion batteries have led to 11 deaths in the UK

An electrical safety charity is calling for tighter regulations on e-bike and e-scooter batteries to prevent substandard batteries from entering our homes.

Since 2020, Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service has dealt with 11 fires believed to be connected to electric bikes and scooters.

The calls for stricter rules come from Electrical Safety First after 11 lives were lost in e-bike fires, while hundreds more were injured.

In 2023, the charity published its first report on the dangers posed by lithium-ion batteries.

It highlighted the risk of thermal runaway, where internal temperatures rise beyond safe limits.

The report said: “Poor quality and substandard components, faulty design, physical abuse and improper charging or discharging can cause a battery to become thermally unstable and lead to catastrophic failure.

“Even if a fire is extinguished, it is common for fires to start again, highlighting the dynamic nature of lithium-ion battery fires.”

The full report can be seen here.

“These products have not been tested”

One of the charity’s safety engineers, Giuseppe Capanna, told Greatest Hits Radio that they are seeing an increase in substandard products entering the UK.

“These are products that haven’t gone through proper testing and the thing about lithium-ion batteries is that they pack an enormous amount of energy into a really small space.

“So when things go wrong, fires can be really devastating,” Mr Capanna said.

He urges anyone shopping for an electric bike or scooter, and those who already own one, to always buy from a reputable manufacturer.

Mr Capanna advised against overcharging batteries as this can lead to thermal runaway, adding that using the correct charger is crucial.

He said: “If you need to replace that battery or charger, make sure you go back to the original manufacturer and don’t try to replace it with a charger from an online marketplace.

“Last year we found about 60 non-compliant and dangerous charges in one day in the online market.”

He said this raised two concerns, firstly that they are non-compliant and unsafe, and that many are sold with a variety of connectors, increasing the risk that the battery and voltages are not compatible.

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