Recently, the mandatory national standard of "Safety Technical Specifications for Lithium-ion Batteries for Electric Bicycles" was released and will be officially implemented on November 1, 2024. How do you view the technical basis gap filled by the new national standard? What will be the impact? Let's look down and learn about ↓ together
Strengthen the safety of lithium batteries for electric bicycles!
Which vehicle batteries does the Technical Specification apply to?
At present, the social ownership of electric bicycles in mainland China has exceeded 350 million, and in 2023, enterprises above designated size in the country will produce a total of 42.28 million electric bicycles.
The "Technical Specification" stipulates the safety requirements and test methods for lithium batteries for electric bicycles applicable to the "Safety Technical Specifications for Electric Bicycles" (GB 17761) from the two levels of single batteries and battery packs.
Among them, the single battery mainly considers six safety requirements: overcharge, overdischarge, external short circuit, thermal abuse, acupuncture, and marking; The battery pack mainly considers 22 safety requirements in 7 aspects, including electrical safety, mechanical safety, environmental safety, thermal diffusion, mutual recognition and collaborative charging, data collection, and marking.
It should be noted that the "Technical Specification" is only applicable to lithium-ion batteries for electric bicycles with a maximum output voltage of no more than 60V as specified in GB 17761 "Safety Technical Specifications for Electric Bicycles". Lithium-ion batteries are not suitable for use in electric scooters, balance bikes, electric motorcycles, electric tricycles, etc.
Fill the lithium battery safety and quality supervision
The technical basis is blank
For the "Technical Specification" released this time, experts said that this specification fills the relevant gap.
This standard draws on and adopts the safety test items such as overcharging and acupuncture in the Beijing standard, and introduces new tests such as thermal diffusion, which will fill the gap in the technical basis for the safety and quality supervision of lithium-ion batteries for electric bicycles at the national level. After the standard is issued, in accordance with the provisions of the Standardization Law of the People's Republic of China, products and services that do not meet the mandatory standards shall not be produced, sold, imported or provided.
What are the common e-bike batteries?
How will the release of the new national standard affect the development of the industry?
There are generally various types of electric bicycle batteries, such as lead-acid batteries, lithium manganese oxide batteries, ternary lithium batteries, and lithium ferrous phosphate batteries. The charging voltage of each type of battery is not exactly the same, and it is easy to mix them during the retrofit process.
For example, if the voltage of a lead-acid battery charger is 59V, and the voltage of a lithium battery charger is 54.6V, charging a lithium battery with a lead-acid battery charger will cause overcharging, which can cause a fire or explosion.
It is understood that the proportion of new electric bicycle models released by major domestic electric bicycle brands equipped with lithium-ion batteries has exceeded 20%. Experts said that mandatory national standards are a threshold, and manufacturers must keep this bottom line.
He Penglin, deputy director of the Safety Technology Research Center of China Electronics Standardization Institute: Before the introduction of this mandatory national standard, there is no mandatory provision for the factory standard of lithium battery for electric bicycles, and it is generally produced in accordance with the requirements of the technical agreement between enterprises, or the factory inspection of the battery belongs to the spontaneous market behavior of the enterprise. After the issuance and implementation of mandatory national standards, the standards of factory inspection shall not be lower than the requirements of mandatory standards. That is to say, mandatory standards are a threshold, and enterprises should be based on mandatory standards for the factory requirements of their own products, and encourage enterprises to adopt higher and stricter standards.
Why is it required to mark the safe life of the battery?
How to buy lithium batteries that comply with the Technical Specifications?
With the increase of service life, the capacity of lithium-ion batteries gradually decreases, and the existing safety risks will gradually amplify. The "Technical Specifications" require manufacturers to mark the "safe service life" on the battery pack, remind users to eliminate old batteries when they expire, reduce the potential safety risks caused by old batteries, and protect the safety of users' lives and property
When purchasing an electric bicycle, consumers can confirm whether the battery meets the "Technical Specifications" by checking the nameplate, specifications, instructions for use and other information of the battery, or asking the seller to request the corresponding "Technical Specifications" test report or certification certificate of the product.