Battery Safety campaign

Our campaign addresses the alarming rise in deaths and injuries resulting from fires and explosions caused by substandard e-scooter and e-bike batteries.

This campaign has the support of over 500 local councils and nearly 100 organisations, including prominent voices such as the National Fire Chiefs Council, Which? and Zurich. We need your support for our campaign to put an end to the sale of unsafe lithium-ion batteries.

The Facts

Fires caused by substandard lithium-ion batteries in e-scooters and e-bikes have multiplied fourfold since 2020, resulting in deaths, hospitalisations, homelessness, and staggering financial losses. Since 2020, over 190 people have been injured, and at least 15 lives have been lost due to this concerning trend. The UK is now facing a disturbing projection of nearly one e-bike or e-scooter fire per day this year, a significant leap from just over one per week in 2020.

This issue is widespread across the UK, with battery fires in over 180 UK parliamentary constituencies since 2020.

Our campaign asks

Our proposed solutions are the answer to these mounting challenges. Here's what it covers:

Safety Assurance - A third-party safety assessment, conducted by a government-approved body, for all e-bikes, e-scooters, and their lithium-ion batteries before they enter the UK market. This process mirrors safety measures in place for other high-risk products like fireworks and heavy machinery.
Responsible Disposal - The Government is to make regulations ensuring the safe disposal of lithium batteries once their lifecycle ends.
Comprehensive Fire Safety - The Government is to assign responsibility to comprehensively addressing fire-related concerns. This involves enhancing safe usage, charging, and storage practices for these devices. It includes setting standards for conversion kits and charging systems and considering a temporary ban on the sale of universal chargers that heighten fire risks.
Online Marketplaces - A clear and enforceable duty on online marketplaces, and clearer definition of key terms to provide confidence for consumers, businesses, and the online marketplaces themselves together with the extension of liability for defective products to online marketplaces, particularly those sold by third party sellers. This will ensure all existing and future online marketplaces and products cannot take advantage of gaps to avoid responsibility