OPSS updates cycling industry on eBike battery guidance & activity

The UK’s government is prioritising action to tackle the complex issues related to fires involving eBikes and e-scooters, according to a letter passed to CIN by the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), including a summary of eBike battery guidance and advice for the trade.

The letter outlines (and reiterates) some of the key guidance for businesses that carry out repairs, modifications and conversions to eBikes and e-scooters, including bike shops, workshops and mobile mechanics.

The OPSS guidance for business outlines the risks and responsibilities associated with repair, mod and conversion work: Preventing e-bike / e-scooter fires | Business Companion.

The OPSS, part of the Department for Business and Trade, said it has been working with Local Authority Trading Standards teams to reach local businesses that provide relevant services to ensure they are aware of their responsibilities and how they can manage the risks arising from their business.

Fires involving eBikes, e-scooters and their associated components including lithium-ion batteries, chargers and conversions kits, relate primarily to fire and explosion risk from the lithium-ion batteries they use. Poorly designed or manufactured lithium-ion batteries used in eBikes and e-scooters present a risk of thermal runaway which can result in a serious fire or explosion. In December 2024, the Secretary of State published statutory guidelines for producers and distributors setting out the safety mechanisms that lithium-ion batteries for e-bikes must contain to address the risk of thermal runaway. The guidelines can be found here: Statutory guidelines on lithium-ion battery safety for e-bikes – GOV.UK.

The OPSS said: “Government is prioritising action to tackle the complex issues related to these fires. In 2023, there were almost 200 fires across the UK involving eBikes, resulting in serious injuries and at least 10 people losing their lives. As the UK’s national product regulator, the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) is leading a wide programme of activity to understand and address product safety risks involving eBikes, e-scooters and lithium-ion batteries.”

OPSS has been working with Local Authority Trading Standards teams to reach locally based businesses that provide such services to ensure they are aware of their responsibilities and how they can manage the risks arising from their business.

“As the UK’s national product regulator, the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) is leading a wide programme of activity to understand and address product safety risks involving e-bikes, e-scooters and lithium-ion batteries.

“A summary of our activity can be found here: OPSS regulatory activity update: e-bikes, e-scooters and lithium-ion batteries – GOV.UK.

“This includes recently published independent research available here: Government publishes research report into e-bike battery safety – GOV.UK.

“OPSS is committed to working closely with stakeholders on this issue.”

The letter from the OPSS is something of a counterpoint to those in the trade putting pressure on the government to get to grips with the issue. Recent eBike market changes by the UK government – such as cutting anti-dumping duties on China (non folding) eBikes – have been judged by many as the government failing to grasp that it needs to prioritise the battery fire challenge and unregulated eBikes on UK streets over any other tweaks and changes to the eBike market. The grave consequences of failure to do so – coupled with media misreporting or conflation between a legal eBike and an illegal ‘eBike’ is having a real term impact on UK businesses.