Safe handling of e-bike and chopper batteries during summer

With the summer holidays approaching, e-bike and chopper sales and rentals are on the rise again. These vehicles are hugely popular, but their lithium-ion batteries come with risks. Hidden damage – for example, from falling over or being blown over – can lead to spontaneous battery fires. It happens faster than you’d think, often resulting in toxic smoke and fires that are hard to extinguish.

In this blog, we share practical tips for business owners on how to handle batteries safely and reduce the risk of battery fire.

Do you rent out e-bikes or choppers? Then it’s important to know just how safe your current practices really are. Take the risk check for businesses now. In just a few simple steps, you’ll see how to minimise risks and work safely – even during the busy summer season.

A recent incident in a bike shop in Amsterdam highlights this danger. Here, batteries of electric bikes caught fire in the basement. The space quickly filled with smoke, and multiple fire engines had to be dispatched to extinguish the fire. Although this incident ended without fatalities, the damage and impact were significant; the basement was gutted by fire and the adjacent restaurant had to be evacuated.

It is therefore crucial to handle lithium-ion batteries wisely. Some tips include:

• Always charge e-bike and chopper batteries in a specially designed, fire-resistant battery safe.
• Ensure that all your staff are aware of the dangers and adjust the working instructions so that everyone uses the battery safe.
• Do not provide chargers to guests to prevent them from charging the battery in their hotel room or holiday home.
• Provide a central charging point so guests can exchange their empty battery for a full one.

There are various types of battery safes on the market. It is important that you choose one that meets the latest safety standards so that the safe is strong enough to manage a potential battery fire and explosions. The VDMA 24994, the document that outlines these safety standards, will be published soon.

Insurance also plays an important role in this. If you work with many lithium-ion batteries, there are often additional conditions. In our blog ‘How to choose a secure battery safe‘ you can read all about it.

Holiday park Roompot took proactive measures and now use a Batteryguard battery safe to centrally and safely charge their batteries. This keeps any potential damage confined within the safe, while ensuring the safety of staff and guests.

If you want to know more about the dangers of battery fire and how to prevent it, our product specialists are ready to offer personal advice and support with the best solutions for battery management