Electric Tricycle Battery Safety, Certification & Recycling in Australia

Sobowo FAT Electric Tricycle using a very common “silverfish” type of battery housing

Never Put an Electric Tricycle Battery in the Rubbish

Most modern electric tricycles use rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. Even when a battery appears to be completely flat, it can still contain stored electrical energy.

If a lithium-ion battery is placed into a household rubbish bin or curbside recycling bin, it can be crushed, punctured or damaged by collection trucks and waste-processing equipment. This can potentially result in a short circuit, overheating or fire.

Batteries need to be separated from the normal waste stream and taken to an appropriate battery recycling, hazardous-waste or resource-recovery facility.

What If the Battery Is Damaged or Swollen?

Physical changes to a battery should never be ignored. Stop using or charging a battery if you notice:

• swelling or bulging;
• cracks, punctures or significant dents;
• leaking;
• unusual or excessive heat;
• an unusual chemical smell;
• hissing or other unusual noises;
• smoke or vapour;
• significant corrosion;
• damage following an accident or heavy impact; or
• damage following immersion in water.

A damaged lithium-ion battery may have internal damage that cannot be seen from the outside. If you have any doubt about its condition, stop using it and seek advice from the retailer, manufacturer or an appropriate battery professional.

Never dismantle, open or attempt a home repair of an electric tricycle lithium-ion battery pack.

Dropped Your Battery? Don’t Automatically Recharge It

Electric tricycle batteries are reasonably robust, but a significant impact can potentially damage cells, electrical connections or the battery management system inside the battery case.

If a battery has been dropped heavily, involved in an accident, crushed or immersed in water, don’t automatically connect it to the charger.

First check the battery carefully and, if the impact was significant or there is any sign of damage, arrange for it to be assessed.

Always Use the Correct Charger

The charger is an important part of the complete battery system.

We strongly recommend using the original charger supplied with the electric tricycle or a properly approved replacement specifically intended for that battery.

Different batteries can operate at different voltages and require different charging characteristics. A charger providing the wrong voltage, current or charging characteristics can damage the battery, cause overheating and potentially create a serious safety risk.

If the original charger needs replacing, check the battery specification and confirm the replacement with the original retailer or supplier rather than selecting a charger simply because the connector looks the same.

Simple Electric Tricycle Charging Rules

A 26″ Trike Bike battery being charged correctly using its correct charger.

Understanding Electric Tricycle Battery Certifications and Standards

Battery safety has become an increasingly important subject, and electric bicycle and tricycle advertisements now commonly contain references to standards such as UL 2271, UN 38.3 and EN 15194.

These references can be useful — but only if you understand what they actually mean.

One of the biggest sources of confusion is assuming that all three are different versions of a “battery safety certificate”. They are not. Each has a different purpose.

What Exactly Is UL 2271?

UL 2271 — Batteries for Use in Light Electric Vehicle Applications — is an important battery-specific safety standard associated with batteries used in applications such as electric bicycles and other light electric vehicles.

The standard is concerned with the safety of the battery system and evaluates it against potential electrical, mechanical and environmental hazards associated with its intended application.

This is considerably more meaningful than a manufacturer simply describing its battery as “high quality”, “safe” or “certified”.

When a seller makes a UL certification claim, customers should be able to identify what product has actually been certified and whether the certification applies to the complete battery being supplied.

What Exactly Is UN 38.3?

Lithium batteries are subject to specific requirements when being transported. Before lithium cells and batteries are offered for normal commercial transportation, the applicable battery type must meet the relevant requirements of the United Nations Manual of Tests and Criteria, including subsection 38.3.

The UN 38.3 test program exposes lithium cells and batteries to conditions representing stresses that may occur during transportation.

The testing program includes areas such as:

• altitude simulation;
• thermal testing;
• vibration;
• shock;
• external short circuit;
• impact or crush testing where applicable;
• overcharge testing where applicable; and
• forced discharge testing where applicable.

This is particularly relevant to electric tricycle batteries because batteries may travel considerable distances — from the battery manufacturer to the tricycle manufacturer, through international freight and finally to the Australian retailer and customer.

What Exactly Is EN 15194?

EN 15194 is the European standard associated with electrically power-assisted cycles, commonly referred to as EPACs.

Unlike UN 38.3, which is concerned primarily with lithium battery transport testing, or UL 2271, which focuses specifically on light electric vehicle battery systems, EN 15194 addresses the electrically assisted cycle more broadly.

Its requirements include areas associated with:

• electrical circuits;
• power-management systems;
• electrical components and subassemblies;
• charging systems;
• safety-related performance;
• design and assembly; and
• instructions for safe use and care.

The European EPAC framework associated with EN 15194 includes electrically assisted cycles where motor assistance progressively reduces and cuts out at 25 km/h, together with other requirements applying to the power-assisted cycle.

Three Standards — Three Different Jobs

How Can You Identify Suspicious Certification Claims?

Customers don’t need to become engineers or certification experts, but there are some sensible questions worth asking when a seller makes strong safety or certification claims.

How Trike Bike Australia Checks Battery and Charger Documentation

Battery safety is not simply a matter of looking for a certification logo on a battery case.

When assessing batteries and charging systems, relevant documentation needs to be considered alongside the actual product being supplied.

Our approach includes looking at matters such as:

• the manufacturer and identification of the battery;
• the battery model and electrical specifications;
• available battery test and certification documentation;
• available UN 38.3 transport documentation;
• whether documentation corresponds with the actual battery model supplied;
• charger voltage and electrical specifications;
• whether the charger is intended for the battery with which it is supplied;
• Australian electrical requirements applicable to charging equipment; and
• documentation associated with the complete electric tricycle where applicable.

We believe this is a better approach than relying upon a sticker, logo or isolated certificate number without understanding what that documentation actually covers.

What Should You Do With an Old Electric Tricycle Battery?

If your battery is simply old and no longer provides satisfactory range, the first step can be to contact the retailer that supplied the tricycle or replacement battery.

They may be able to accept the old battery or advise you of an appropriate recycling or disposal service.

You can also contact your local council or council-operated waste and resource-recovery facility.

Many Australian council waste facilities, resource-recovery centres, community recycling centres and household hazardous-waste facilities provide ways of dealing with batteries. However, acceptance arrangements vary between councils and individual facilities, particularly for larger lithium-ion batteries such as those used in electric bicycles and electric tricycles.

Do not assume that a supermarket, hardware store or other small-battery collection box intended for AA, AAA and similar household batteries can accept a large electric tricycle battery.

Battery Recycling in Australia

For a Normal, Undamaged End-of-Life Battery

1. Remove it from the tricycle if it is designed to be removable.
2. Switch it off if the battery has a power switch.
3. Keep it somewhere cool and dry and away from combustible materials while arranging recycling.
4. Protect exposed terminals against accidental short circuit where appropriate.
5. Contact your retailer, local council, resource-recovery centre or appropriate battery recycler.
6. Confirm that the location accepts larger lithium-ion e-bike or e-trike batteries before taking it there.

For a Damaged, Swollen or Water-Affected Battery

A damaged battery requires more careful handling.

Do not simply take a swollen, leaking, overheated, fire-damaged or otherwise compromised battery into an ordinary shop battery collection point.

Contact your local council, retailer or specialist battery disposal provider and explain the condition of the battery before transporting it.

What Happens to Recycled Batteries?

Lithium-ion batteries contain materials that can potentially be recovered rather than being lost into landfill.

Specialist battery recycling processes can recover useful materials from end-of-life batteries, allowing valuable resources to potentially re-enter manufacturing supply chains.

Correct recycling therefore provides two important benefits: it keeps potentially hazardous lithium batteries out of household waste streams and allows useful battery materials to be recovered.

Three Simple Things to Remember

Battery Safety Doesn’t Need to Be Complicated

Lithium-ion batteries are now part of everyday life. They power our phones, computers, tools, electric bicycles and electric tricycles.

For electric tricycle owners, there is no reason to be frightened of the technology. A good quality battery used with the correct charger and treated sensibly should provide years of useful service.

The important things are knowing what equipment you are using, charging it correctly, recognising the warning signs of a damaged battery and making sure the battery is recycled properly when it eventually reaches the end of its life.