E-bike batteries and fire safety: the figures and the official guidance.

The fire figures, by publisher

London Fire Brigade

On 28 January 2026 London Fire Brigade (LFB) reported a record 206 e-bike and e-scooter fires in London in 2025: 171 involving e-bikes and 35 involving e-scooters, an average of 17 a month. Its yearly e-bike fire counts show the rise:

LFB said two people died in such fires in London in 2025, and five since 2023, and that none of the five owned the e-bike involved.

FDNY (New York City)

On 8 January 2025 the Fire Department of the City of New York reported 268 lithium-ion battery fires in the city in 2023 and 277 in 2024, with 18 deaths in 2023 and 6 in 2024. These are lithium-ion battery fires as FDNY counts them; the release does not break them down by type of device.

UK-wide (OPSS)

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) cited at least ten fire-related deaths in the UK in 2023 involving e-bikes or e-scooters with lithium-ion batteries (12 December 2024). Its regulatory activity update of 29 January 2025 put the 2023 UK figure at almost 200 fires and 10 deaths, and reported 21 product recalls and 29 Product Safety Reports on e-bikes or e-scooters since 2022.

What the fire services and regulators say causes these fires

• LFB (28 January 2026) names lithium-ion battery failure, conversion kits and chargers as frequent causes. It says products bought online that do not meet UK safety standards are particularly prone to fires, and that batteries can fail if they are poorly built, counterfeit, damaged, overcharged or used with the wrong charger.
• OPSS (29 January 2025) says research it commissioned from WMG in 2023 found risks from overcharging and from incompatible batteries and chargers, with mechanical, thermal or electrical root causes.

The official guidance, as published

• FDNY (8 January 2025) reported that more of the 2024 fires than the 2023 fires happened outdoors rather than in a home or business, and presented the change as a sign that people were following its advice to store and charge these devices outside where possible. Its Lithium-Ion Battery Task Force inspected 585 e-bike shops in 2024.
• OPSS (27 February 2025) advises buying e-bikes from reputable sellers, using parts the manufacturer recommends, and getting professional help for conversions and repairs. Its "Buy Safe, Be Safe" campaign, launched in October 2024, covers safe buying, replacement parts and professional conversion or repair.
• OPSS on UPP batteries. OPSS warned in January 2024, and repeated on 27 February 2025, that people should stop using Unit Pack Power (UPP) U004 and U004-1 e-bike batteries, and required online marketplaces to stop selling them. It advised not charging affected batteries and taking them to a household recycling centre that accepts them.
• New York City (8 September 2023) advises buyers to look for a certification logo, label or testing laboratory name on the product, packaging or documentation.
• US CPSC (24 November 2025), in its warning about certain e-bike batteries from Rad Power Bikes Inc., advises disposing of hazardous lithium-ion batteries through local hazardous waste procedures, not in household trash, curbside recycling or retail battery drop boxes.

LFB runs the #ChargeSafe campaign, launched in 2023.

Rules on batteries and e-bikes

United Kingdom

OPSS launched statutory guidelines on e-bike lithium-ion battery safety on 12 December 2024 for businesses that make and distribute e-bike batteries in Great Britain. They say a battery must include a safety mechanism against thermal runaway to be considered safe under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005, which cover batteries sold online and for conversion kits; placing an unsafe battery on the market is an offence. OPSS's update of 29 January 2025 also reported that it had commissioned BSI to write a fast-track Publicly Available Specification on lithium-ion battery safety. In December 2025 LFB urged the government to bring forward secondary legislation under the Product Regulation and Metrology Act, which received Royal Assent in summer 2025.

What counts as an e-bike in Great Britain is set by the EAPC rules. The government's information sheet (updated 10 December 2024) gives a maximum continuous rated power of 250 watts, assistance cutting off at 15.5 mph, pedals that can propel the bike, and a minimum rider age of 14, under the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles Regulations 1983 and the Pedal Cycles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1983, both amended. An EAPC must show the maker's name, the motor's rated output, and either the battery voltage or the maximum assisted speed. The e-bike classes and laws page has the detail.

New York City: Local Law 39 of 2023

Since 16 September 2023, Local Law 39 has required e-bikes sold, leased or rented in New York City to be certified to UL 2849, other battery-powered mobility devices to UL 2272, and lithium-ion batteries to UL 2271. Devices already in use are not affected unless they are resold or rented.

United States: a proposed federal standard

On 22 June 2026 the CPSC approved publishing a proposed mandatory safety standard for lithium-ion batteries in micromobility products, aimed at thermal runaway, fires and explosions, and it scheduled a virtual hearing for oral comments on 21 October 2026. Search summaries of the Federal Register notice of 24 June 2026 say it would require e-bikes, other micromobility products, user-replaceable battery packs, conversion kits and aftermarket chargers to meet UL 2849, UL 2272 and UL 2271 with changes; we could not open the notice itself. It is a proposal, not a final rule.

Europe: EN 15194

EN 15194 is the European standard for electrically power assisted cycles. The Estonian standards body's listing for the 2017 edition describes bikes with a maximum continuous rated power of 0.25 kW and assistance cut at 25 km/h or when pedalling stops, and covers power management and electrical circuits, including charging, for systems up to 48 V DC or with integrated 230 V AC chargers. Catalogue listings say EN 15194:2017 was withdrawn in 2023 and replaced by EN 15194:2017+A1:2023, but they give different dates (23 August and 1 September 2023), and we read them only in search summaries, so the date is unconfirmed.

UCI e-bike racing

For its own e-bike events, the UCI caps batteries at 4.5 kg and requires them to conform with UN3480, according to Article 1.3.010 bis as reproduced in the Japan Cycling Federation's copy of the UCI clarification guide (uploaded March 2026; edition date unconfirmed).

Battery recalls and regulators' warnings are listed on the recalls page.