Lithium-ion battery related fires, including those caused by low quality batteries in e-mobility devices, are the fastest growing cause of fires in NSW.
In response to growing demand for these products and increased community risk from poor-quality versions, sellers will soon face penalties of up to $825,000 if they do not meet the strict new standards.
This nation-leading move follows the rapid growth in the demand for e-mobility devices which in 2022, increased 322 per cent compared with 2020.
Since January 1, Fire and Rescue NSW has attended 54 fires related to e-scooter, e-bikes, e-skateboards or hoverboards, including one that resulted in two fatalities.
Battery World manager Chris McCabe said they didn’t keep lithium-ion batteries inside the store for safety reasons.
“We do have lithium batteries for caravans and campers but only sell Remco Lithium Deep Cycle batteries which are the safest in the marketplace,” he said.
“We follow strict safety standards and wouldn’t touch anything else.”
Likewise, Apollo Batteries’ Domenic Portolesi said he fully supported the crackdown.
“It’s not the batteries themselves that are the problem but the management system which is not adequate,” he said.
“Each battery has a little computer and if it’s not managing its cells correctly, they heat up and explode.
“Stopping the cheap battery imports is the way to go, with much less chance of consumer danger.”
The new standards being applied to lithium-ion battery powered e-bikes, e-scooters, e-skateboards and hoverboards, can be viewed at fairtrading.nsw.gov.au
Get tough on lithium-ion batteries over fire rise
NSW will impose strict new standards on lithium-ion battery powered e-bikes, e-scooters and similar products as it pursues a national approach to low quality products in a move that has been applauded by Battery World Bankstown and Apollo Batteries Milperra
