E-bike battery by-law and webinar on the way

Out walking the other day we passed a backpacker hostel in Sydney’s Kings Cross where, on a Sunday morning there were no fewer that eight food delivery e-bikes chained to the railings.

Needless to say, all of their batteries were inside, presumable being charged up.  What do you reckon the potential is for lithium-ion battery chargers being shared?  Never mind the fact that using the wrong chargers is one of the classic causes of Li-ion battery fires.

Then we had this report of a fire in a flat in Annandale shared by food delivery riders that went up in flames last week, leaving one of them in hospital with 40 per cent burns.

It’s because of incidents like these and the potential for fires in apartments that the Owners Corporation Network (OCN) is devising an e-battery safety by-law and planning an expert webinar for early next year.

OCN, which represents and supports apartment owners and residents, has been researching best practice in protecting its members from this developing risk.

“We have engaged with experts including EV Firesafe, an Australian company funded by the Department of Defence, the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA), the Electric Vehicle Council and taken advice from the ACCC report into lithium-ion battery (Li-ion) fire risk.

“We’re collating all we’ve learned so owners corporations can put practical and effective policies in place to protect their buildings and residents. We’ve engaged a specialist strata lawyer to develop a by-law and code of conduct to put this into effect.” said Karen Stiles, OCN’s executive director.

In the first instance this new by-law and code of conduct will be available on the OCN website, ocn.org.au, for their members.

OCN is planning a webinar early in 2024, which will include experts from EV FireSafe and the ICA to introduce this new by-law and seek feedback on a wide range of implementation issues.

OCN Strongly supports the ACCC report on lithium-ion batteries and, in conjunction with the Electric Vehicle Council, on 24 November responded to the NSW Government Parliamentary inquiry into electric and hybrid vehicle batteries – https://ocn.org.au/ocn-submissions/

The evidence in the ACCC Report and from EV Firesafe is clear. There is minimal fire risk from road-registered electric vehicles, due to the high level of regulation and compliance. 

But there is a far higher risk associated with personal mobility devices, particularly with lower quality and cheaper devices.  They also caution of the risk with damaged Li-ion batteries and suggest mitigation strategies.  The OCN by-law summarises this risk and mitigation steps.