Sixty seconds on . . . e-bikes

A virtuous cycle?Not in these instances. The Times has reported that the batteries that power electric bikes have become a major public safety hazard.1 They’ve been blamed for causing numerous fires in New York that have killed at least 13 people.What happened?On 20 June a fire started in an electric bike shop in New York’s Chinatown district and quickly spread up a six storey building, killing four people and critically injuring two others. Last month another fire in a flat in upper Manhattan left four people dead, and firefighters found the remains of several lithium-ion batteries from electric bikes.What’s causing this?Lithium-ion batteries can overheat while being charged and can explode in an extremely hot flare of flame. This, say experts, is because they contain a flammable electrolyte solution that allows electrical current to flow.What’s the scale of the problem?The New York City Fire Department says that 108 fires from lithium-ion…
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