On February 28, in a residential community in Xinhui Community, Longshan Street, Changxing County, Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, members of the property micro fire station used fire extinguishers to extinguish the "fire" electric bicycle. On the same day, in order to standardize the safe charging of electric bicycles in high-rise residential communities and improve the emergency response ability to deal with fire emergencies, Longshan Street, Changxing County, carried out a fire drill for electric bicycle fire accidents. Visual China.
It only takes 100 seconds for an electric car to kill you! "In residential buildings, electric bicycle safety slogans can be seen everywhere, warning people to pay attention to electricity safety. However, in recent years, related accidents are still common.
Recently, a fire broke out in a small area of Yuhuatai District, Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province, causing many people. China Fire said that although it is not yet possible to determine the specific cause, a large number of electric bicycles parked on the overhead level contributed to the rapid spread of the fire.
According to the statistics of the National Fire and Rescue Administration, a total of 2 electric bicycle fires will be reported nationwide in 202310,000, an increase of 17 compared to 20224%。The main causes of e-bike fires include battery overcharge, battery cell failure, battery line short circuit, etc. In addition, old batteries and modified batteries also have great safety risks.
Lithium batteries are used as the power of electric bicycles, and frequent incidents have once again aroused public concern about battery safety. It is worth noting that this year, the mandatory national standard for lithium-ion batteries for electric bicycles will be introduced. Prevention is not "burning", what will be the impact of the introduction of national standards on the industry? A reporter from China City Daily launched an investigation and reported on this.
Curbing e-bike risks** from the battery source
According to the Beijing Municipal Fire and Rescue Corps, there were 33 fires of electric bicycles and electric tricycles in Beijing in January, of which 30 were caused by battery failure, accounting for more than ninety percent of the total number of accidents. There were 28 fires in February, including 26 due to battery failure.
According to the report, once the electric bicycle battery is burned, it often burns, producing a large amount of toxic high-temperature smoke. When combustibles accumulate in the perimeter, the fire will spread rapidly in a short period of time.
Ni Jie, president of Zhejiang Luyuan Electric Vehicle, said that electric bicycle fire accidents can be divided into four categories, of which fire accidents caused by potential safety hazards in the design and manufacture of vehicles and batteries account for the largest proportion.
Electric vehicle batteries are the power of electric bicycles**, and most are lead-acid batteries or lithium-ion batteries.
In 2018, the state issued a mandatory standard "Safety Technical Specifications for Electric Bicycles", which is known as the "new national standard" in the industry, which makes specific requirements for the weight, maximum speed, battery voltage and other indicators of electric bicycles. Under the same capacity, lithium batteries are smaller and lighter than lead-acid batteries, and their service life is about 2-3 times that of lead-acid batteries. Therefore, after the introduction of the "new national standard", lithium batteries have obvious advantages and are good for the development of the industry.
According to iResearch's "2023 China's two-wheeled electric vehicle industry, the penetration rate of lithium two-wheeled vehicles in 2018 is 127%, which has increased to 25% in 2022. According to EVTANK**, the penetration rate of lithium-ion electric bicycles will reach 56 by 20254%。
In 2022, the State Administration for Market Regulation randomly inspected 100 batches of electric bicycle battery products produced by 67 enterprises in 17 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) in the circulation field, and 22 batches of products were unqualified, with a random inspection failure rate of 220%。Among them, the unqualified items of lithium-ion battery products involve 2hr capacity, I2(A) discharge, overcharge, short-circuit protection, low-temperature discharge, shell flame retardancy, and discharge overcurrent protection. According to the analysis of technical institutions, the main reason for the unqualified is that the actual capacity of the product does not reach the nominal rated capacity, and the second is that the quality control of key production processes, key raw materials and key components is not strict.
It is worth noting that most battery failures are caused by illegal modification of batteries, and consumers should pay attention to them. Mr. Sun, an electric bicycle operator in Shuangqiao Street, Beijing, said that it is important not to modify the electric bicycle for a longer mileage or faster riding speed, or replace the battery instead of the original battery, which will bring huge safety hazards and easily cause accidents and fires.
The introduction of the national standard is conducive to safety and security and industry development
Over the years, China has lacked mandatory national standards for lithium batteries for electric bicycles, and the quality of lithium batteries is uneven, resulting in frequent safety accidents. In order to prevent accidents from the source, it is urgent to improve and improve battery safety standards.
The reporter learned from the official ** of the National Standardization Administration that the mandatory national standard "Safety Technical Specifications for Lithium-ion Batteries for Electric Bicycles" drafted by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in 2022 has completed the drafting and solicitation of opinions, and is currently in the review stage. According to the project plan, this mandatory national standard will be published this year.
In fact, in recent years, electric bicycle battery standards have been introduced in various places, although there are positive exploration significance at the local level, but the guidance and constraints on enterprises are not strong, and they cannot replace the "national standard".
For example, in 2022, the Beijing Bicycle and Electric Vehicle Industry Association formulated the group standard "Technical Specifications for Lithium-ion Power Battery Packs for Electric Bicycles", which stipulates 33 safety technical indicators such as battery pack temperature protection and overcharge protection. In November 2023, Guangzhou issued the group standard "Technical Specifications for Lithium-ion Batteries and Battery Packs for Electric Bicycles", which requires lithium battery electric bicycles to "not **, not ** within 5 minutes" after triggering the thermal runaway alarm
What are the highlights of the introduction of the mandatory national standards?
You Tao, director of the Product Quality and Safety Supervision and Management Department of the Beijing Municipal Administration for Market Regulation, said that the national standard stipulates 33 safety technical indicators such as overcharge, overdischarge, battery pack temperature protection and overcharge protection of single batteries. At the same time, in order to provide protection for early warning and the safety of drivers and passengers, for the first time, personal safety-related items were introduced into the lithium-ion battery standard for electric bicycles, and the thermal diffusion control ability of the battery was required
He Penglin, deputy director of the Safety Technology Research Center of the China Electronics Standardization Institute, said that according to the project plan, the mandatory national standard will be released this year. This standard 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.
Industry insiders believe that the formulation of national standards for lithium-ion batteries is conducive to the standardized development and transformation and upgrading of relevant industries, and relevant enterprises need to further improve battery quality standards, innovate technology, and reduce risks; Relevant departments can also supervise according to the document and ensure the effective implementation of the standards after they are introduced, which plays an important role in the healthy and orderly development of related industries.
Residents' safety awareness still needs to be improved
In the area near the East Fifth Ring Road in Beijing, the reporter visited and investigated several communities and found that some residents parked their cars outside the building, although the parking specifications were standardized, but due to the tight location of the charging pile, some residents still took the battery home to charge after dismantling. In some bottom business areas, there are also people who pull the extension power cord outdoors to charge in place.
Electric bicycle accidents are frequent, and many people still know that they are in danger, why is this?
In August 2021, the Ministry of Emergency Management issued the "Regulations on Fire Safety Management of High-rise Civil Buildings", Article 37 of which clearly stipulates that it is forbidden to park or charge electric bicycles in the public foyers, evacuation walkways, stairwells, and safety exits of high-rise civil buildings. Article 47 stipulates that business units and individuals who refuse to correct the behavior of indiscriminate parking and charging shall be fined up to 10,000 yuan, and non-business units and individuals shall be fined up to 1,000 yuan.
The orderly parking and safe charging of electric vehicles put forward higher challenges and requirements for urban and community management. In addition to eliminating potential safety hazards from the source of batteries, the improvement of social residents' safety awareness and the guarantee of electric bicycle charging piles are also matters worthy of attention.
According to data from the China Bicycle Association, as of the end of 2022, the number of two-wheeled electric vehicles in China has reached 3500 million units, which is equivalent to one electric bicycle for every four people. Electric bicycles provide convenience for the public to travel, but at the same time, the best risks of electric bicycles cannot be ignored.
The number of electric bicycles in China is huge, and travel safety is related to everyone's personal safety. In fact, China has never stopped on the road of promoting the safety of electric bicycles. In terms of national standards, from July 1, 2023, the first mandatory national standard in the field of electric bicycle chargers "Safety Technical Requirements for Chargers for Electric Bicycles" will be implemented, and the "Electrical Safety Requirements for Electric Bicycles" will also be implemented on January 1, 2024. The quality and safety of electric bicycles are standardized by standardized means.
Why does the chaos of parking and charging electric bicycles always fail to brake? How to prevent the occurrence of ** accidents?
Orderly parking of electric bicycles and standardized charging to prevent the occurrence of fire from the root is the best self-rescue. Mr. Sun, the above-mentioned electric bicycle operator, kindly reminded that consumers must buy regular and qualified electric vehicles and accessories, and substandard products will cause potential safety hazards and increase the risk of fire; Do not park or charge e-bikes in residential buildings such as public foyers, evacuation walkways, stairwells, and safety exits, and ensure the smooth flow of "life passages"; Do not take the battery home for charging and flying wire charging, try to charge it during the day, and cut off the power in time when it is fully charged, so as to avoid problems with the battery, wires, etc.
Diao Jingyan, a reporter from China City Daily.