An electric bike battery pack classed as dangerous is being offered for sale by private sellers across the UK via Facebook Marketplace, according to Electrical Safety First, a UK charity working across the electrical industry.
The charity has found 13 listings of the UPP (unit pack power) branded ebike battery, which has been linked to multiple fires. Facebook removed the listings once contacted by the charity.
“We urgently need sellers to check if they are unknowingly passing on a dangerous e-bike battery. A single unit of this affected battery being sold online could put a household at serious risk,” says Giuseppe Capanna, product safety engineer at Electrical Safety First.
In January 2024, the UK government issued a withdrawal notice to Amazon, eBay and Alibaba, stating that the UPP battery posed a serious risk of fire.
Although Facebook was not issued with the original withdrawal notice, Electrical Safety First says it was published online and re-issued by the government in April to “engage with the wider business community”.
“It’s essential all online marketplaces and businesses proactively engage with the published Government warning,” says Capanna.
“The current rules governing online marketplaces are not fit for purpose, and new laws are urgently needed to protect shoppers from dangerous goods being sold on these platforms.”
Electrical Safety First says models of the U004 and U004-1 triangular-shaped UPP battery are stated to pose a serious risk of fire due to ‘thermal runaway’. This process can see a battery reach 600˚C, release toxic gases and create fire that’s “almost impossible to extinguish”.
In March, a home in Surrey was damaged after a converted bike caught fire while on charge. This was linked to a UPP battery, the charity says.
Electrical Safety First also says a fire in Coventry in September 2023 devastated a high-rise property after a fire linked to a UPP battery spread.
A Freedom of Information request by the Guardian found fires caused by e-scooters and ebikes had injured at least 190 people and killed eight as of May 2023.
Last month, the All Party Parliamentary Group for Cycling & Walking (APPGCW) launched an inquiry into ‘dangerous’ ebikes and conversion kits.
MP Fabian Hamiltion, chair of the APPGCW, said at the time: “Ebikes have enormous potential to support a cleaner, fairer transport future, but that future is at risk if we fail to address emerging issues, especially from low-quality imported upgrade kits.”
Last year, the Electrical Bike Alliance found 23 per cent of UK adults are deterred from buying an ebike by reports of ebike battery fires.
Electrical Safety First urges consumers to check their ebikes for the UPP batteries and explains how you can spot them: “The battery, distinctively triangular in shape, is often found with stickers on the two faces of the battery case with the words ‘UPPBATTERY’ and/or ‘U004 BATTERY’.
“The battery often comes with an LED display or LED indicator, a power switch and a charge socket.
“If the corresponding model number U004 or U004-1 number is displayed on the sticker consumers are urged to stop using the battery immediately.”
