Fire Committee raises the alarm on regulation of e-bikes

The London Assembly Fire, Resilience and Emergency Planning Committee has written to the Government raising serious concerns over the regulation of e-scooters and e-bikes following an increasing number of lithium-ion battery-related fires in London.

The Committee is calling on the Department for Business and Trade to outline what action it is taking to address questions over the regulation of online sales of e-bikes and e-scooters, and for it to provide an expected timeline for achieving better regulation.

Lithium-ion batteries, used in e-bikes and e-scooters, are small and lightweight but can store a large amount of energy. As a result, they are volatile under stress and, if damaged or incorrectly charged, can be a fire risk ^[1].

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) has warned that fires involving e-bikes or e-scooters is the fastest growing fire risk in London. They primarily result from faulty e-bike or e-scooter batteries or chargers or from conversion kits sold online.

Three people in London have lost their lives in fires believed to have been caused by a failure of an e-bike's lithium-ion battery, while 51 people have been injured this year ^[2].

The key area of concern is unregulated products, usually cheap in comparison with those that do meet UK standards, which can be bought online.

In a letter to the Department for Business and Trade published today, the Committee has raised concerns about the worrying increase in the number of lithium-ion battery-related fires in London.

The Committee is particularly concerned that unsafe e-scooter or e-bike charging is taking place in multiple occupancy or multi-storey residential buildings, meaning others can be at risk.

Anne Clarke AM, Chair of the London Assembly Fire, Resilience and Emergency Planning Committee, said:

“We all use lithium-ion batteries safely at some point in our daily lives – they are found in mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and other personal electronic devices.

“E-scooters and e-bikes have the potential to offer quick travel across the city, with minimal carbon footprint. However, we are hugely concerned that some of the batteries in e-bike kits that are being bought online are not regulated and could be putting lives at risk.

“With many Londoners living in homes of multiple occupancy or multi-storey residential buildings, this could not only be a risk to the owner but others living around them.

“That is why we want to find out what plans the Government has to address the regulation of these unsafe products, especially through online retailers, as well as an expected timeline for achieving better regulation.”