UK product safety regulator considers e-bike battery regulations following research

The product safety regulator has made it clear that addressing the risks related to fires involving e-bikes and e-scooters in the UK remains a priority for its regulatory activity. It made a statement to this effect as the UK government published new independent research into product safety associated with e-bike and e-scooter lithium-ion batteries, chargers and e-bike conversion kits.

Commissioned by the OPSS, the research is said to have given new insights into a number of matters, such as how product safety standards may have fallen behind technological advances. According to the OPSS, fire and explosion risk from lithium-ion batteries used by e-bikes and e-scooters has been increasing, along with the growth of the market. In 2023, there were almost 200 fires reported involving these products in the UK, causing 10 fatalities.

The regulator said that it will carefully consider the evidence produced by the research to inform “policy development and effective regulation”. The OPSS has already been active in regulatory interventions in this area. The regulatory activity it has undertaken includes market surveillance and data gathering as well as campaigns to raise awareness of risk. 

In December 2024, statutory guidance was published by the government setting out the safety mechanisms that lithium-ion batteries for e-bikes and e-scooters must contain to address the risk of ‘thermal runaway’, which is a dangerous chain reaction that causes fires. The OPSS reminded producers and distributors of lithium-ion batteries that they must take these guidelines into account when assessing whether their battery meets legal safety requirements under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (GPSR).

The OPSS added that it is continually assessing the most effective regulatory interventions to protect consumers and target and remove dangerous products. Among the possible options is improving the regulatory framework through the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill, which is currently on its journey through parliament and aims to modernise and streamline product safety regulations across the UK.

This option, according to the OPSS, will help ensure the UK’s product safety framework can keep up with technological advancements, including on e-bikes and lithium-ion batteries, if regulatory change is needed.

Product safety expert Zoe Betts of Pinsent Masons said that the fire risks inherent in battery production, storage, use and disposal are not new, but battery usage is changing rapidly, bringing those risks into sharp focus and leading to increasing calls for better regulation. However, she said, there is already a substantial body of legislation and guidance which is equally relevant to lithium battery risk, and the OPSS’s measured approach towards possible future regulation “will be welcomed by stakeholders, who are keen to avoid yet more regulation”. 

“Care should always be taken to ensure any new regulation is properly thought through to avoid unforeseen consequences, or indeed an unnecessary regulatory burden. Consideration should be given to whether additional guidance or education might address a risk that may be covered by existing regulation, such as the statutory guidance under the GPSR which was issued by the government in December,” she said.

Other initiatives set out by the OPSS include developing a new ‘publicly available specification’ (PAS) to cover the safety of lithium-ion batteries in collaboration with the British Standards Institution (BSI) and other stakeholders.  There will also be a need for collaboration across government to align policy.