15 Dead in Fire on 23rd
Unsold Batteries to Be Banned from Sale Within the Year
In China, where an electric bicycle fire incident resulted in 15 deaths, the introduction of national standards for electric bicycle batteries is expected to gain momentum. This comes as public interest in related safety issues rises amid repeated large and small accidents without the establishment of binding standards.
On the 26th, China's state-run Global Times (GT) reported, "As electric bicycle fire incidents have occurred nationwide recently, public concern about battery safety is increasing," adding, "China plans to introduce mandatory national standards on this issue." According to GT, although local technical standards for the safety of lithium-ion batteries used in electric bicycles have been established in many cities, mandatory national standards have not yet been implemented.
Earlier in 2022, the Beijing Bicycle and Electric Bicycle Industry Association established a draft standard related to 33 safety technologies, including overvoltage protection, charging overcurrent protection, discharging overcurrent protection, and temperature protection. In Guangzhou, Guangdong Province in the south, known to have the largest number of lithium battery electric bicycles nationwide, a similar draft standard was established in November last year. According to the standard, an alarm must sound five minutes before the battery heat reaches a risk level that could lead to fire or explosion.
According to China Central (CC) TV, at the national level, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology completed the consultation phase to make the 2022 draft a binding national standard and is currently reviewing detailed matters, with the final version expected to be announced within the year. Once the standard is promulgated, products or services that do not meet it cannot be produced, sold, or imported.
According to statistics from Chinese fire authorities, the number of electric bicycle fire reports nationwide last year was 21,000, a 17.4% increase compared to the previous year. In 2022, there were 18,000 cases, with a year-on-year increase rate of 23.4%.
Meanwhile, on the 23rd, a fire occurred in a residential area in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, eastern China, resulting in 15 deaths. Potential analysis showed that the fire started in the electric bicycle parking area on the first floor of the building. Subsequently, on the 25th, electric bicycle fire incidents occurred in Beijing and Shanghai, respectively.
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