Since the late 2010s, the number of e-bike sharing systems has increased dramatically. Faster than mechanical bikes and requiring less effort, bike-sharing system operators are seeing an explosion in their turnover rate. However, the battery, the main component of which generates the electric assistance, has introduced new operational and environmental issues. Design, manufacturing, reuse, recycling, the opportunities to reduce the environmental impact are there.

In this article, Qucit invites you to look behind the scenes of this electric revolution with the participation of Nowos, a company specialized in the repair of electric batteries since 2019.

To learn more about the rise of e-bike sharing systems: here

Electrically assisted bikes (EAB) in bike share are on the rise! In fact, the number of e-bike sharing systems is constantly increasing. The 2020 and 2021 NABSA reports show a continued increase in electric systems. In fact, in 2020, the association reported that 44% of the bike share systems included e-bikes. In 2021, the number was up to 50%.

What is the benefit of e-bike sharing systems?

E-bike share have many advantages:

EABs are used over longer distances: on the Vélib system combining mechanical and electric bicycles, EABs cover an average of 3.1 km per trip compared to 2.5 km for mechanical bicycles (source: Vélib).

EABs are attracting new users as the trips are faster, less tiring and more kilometers can be covered without effort.

EABs also have an impact on car use. While 183 km/month of car use is avoided by users of a mechanical bike, this figure rises to 236 km/month for users of an electrically assisted bike (source: ADEME) .

Finally, the operators of self-service bicycle systems observe a higher turnover rate for electric vehicles. In fact, in 2021, on the Vélib system, an electric-assist bike makes 15 to 16 rotations per day, while a mechanical bike makes 9 (source: Vélib).

What is the battery of an electric bicycle made of?

The battery of an electric vehicle contains four elements:

The cells
The wiring
The case
The motherboard

The cells are the accumulators of the system. They act as an energy reservoir and are assembled using precise wiring. The case acts as a container for the battery. Its other task is to cushion the battery as best as possible in case of a shock. The motherboard is the element that contains the programming of the electric bike. It contains the part of the intelligence that performs the calculations to provide the best possible assistance without compromising the autonomy of the electric bike. It is important to mention that some battery designs are more advanced and have more components.

What is the life cycle of a battery in shared mobility?

The production

The production of electric batteries goes through five main stages:

Mining of raw materials

To manufacture lithium-ion batteries, lithium, cobalt and graphite must be extracted. However, this extraction raises major environmental and social problems.

The mining industry consumes a lot of water. As an example, about two million liters of water are evaporated to produce only one ton of lithium. This excessive water consumption dries out the regions where the minerals are extracted.

Sulfides released by cobalt mining contribute to local water pollution.

Some artisanal cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which accounts for 66% of the mineral's production, are operated by children in dangerous conditions.

Lithium mine — *Credits : The Detroit Bureau*

2. Refining the raw materials

Once the ores are extracted, refineries buy them to purify them and transform them into value-added products such as lithium hydroxide, cobalt sulfate or lithium carbonate.

3. The manufacture of cell components

These materials are combined with each other and mixed with certain additives to make the components of the battery cells.

4. The manufacture of cells

The majority of cells are manufactured in Asia. China alone held 41% of global cell production in 2014, followed by Japan (21%), Korea (17%) and the United States (17%). The European Union accounts for only 5% of the global cell production market. In 2022, the market is still largely dominated by these three Asian countries, including three companies: the Chinese CATL, the South Korean LG Chem and the Japanese Panasonic.

5. The manufacture of battery packs

After being tested, evaluated and sorted, the cells are delivered to the battery pack manufacturers where they are assembled into a final product that meets the technical, environmental and safety specifications of the end user.

The use

The very high turnover of e-bikes in bike-sharing systems has led to a new problem for operators: ensuring that the batteries of the e-bikes are always charged in order to offer the best service to users. To make this possible, operators have the choice between charging stations or battery swaps.

*Credits : Toronto Bike Share - Shift Transit*

Charging stations allow vehicles to be recharged after use. They require the user to bring the bike back to a station in order to recharge it.

On the other hand, the battery swap does not depend on the user but on a technical team of the operator whose job will be to exchange the discharged batteries of the vehicles for fully charged ones.

The advantage of the battery swap lies in the full availability of the vehicle once the operation is completed. Recharging at a charging station, on the other hand, will require a longer time to reach full charge. However, the battery swap requires the mobilization of a technical team, generating higher operating costs. In addition, it is necessary to raise the awareness of the teams and to ensure their ADR 1.3 certification. In a professional context, this certification is mandatory for the transport of batteries on the road, starting from a single battery transported.

The life of a lithium-ion battery is closely linked to several factors:

The quality of the battery technology and the cells that make it up.

The maintenance through regular recharging and storage rules.

The use of the battery. Indeed, the battery life of an e-bike for personal use is estimated at 5 to 6 years. Beyond this period, the battery continues to function but its capacity reduces with time, with more and more frequent recharging. In the case of intensive use, such as shared bikes, the number of charging cycles will be reached more quickly and the battery will wear out more easily.

Thus, when the battery is at the end of its life, i.e. when it has lost 20% of its initial capacity, it can no longer be used in a bike-sharing fleet. However, its lifespan can be extended through repair.

The repair
In the electric battery industry, the repair of lithium-ion batteries is a recent sector. Nowos, a Dutch company founded in 2019, is the only European player to repair batteries with original cells, in compliance with standards but also with the manufacturer's specifications.

While Nowos has several areas of business directly related to batteries, such as battery transportation program, consulting and engineering to design a more repairable battery, and hazardous materials logistics, the company's core business remains the repair of lithium-ion batteries for the soft electric mobility industry. The batteries repaired by Nowos are those used in e-scooters, EABs, mopeds and small electric cars.

Repairing using only original components allows Nowos to maintain UN38.3 certification on repaired batteries. Considered as hazardous materials, this certification is a requirement for the safe transportation of batteries internationally. In addition to meeting the specifications and maintaining the manufacturer's certification, NOWOS ensures full compliance for its customers by handling the entire logistics of collecting and transporting the batteries safely and correctly throughout Europe.

Access to original components is achieved in two ways: through the battery manufacturer sending spare parts or through the recovery of functional parts from irreparable batteries.

In this way, in 2021, NOWOS was able to repair more than 79% of its customers' batteries that were originally destined for recycling.
These batteries all had at least 80% of their original capacity. Indeed, the perception and knowledge about the life of batteries is wrong. Energy is not the only cause of battery failure, it can also be mechanical, electronic or chemical.

« Nowos’ primary goal is to repair on a zero waste basis. If the battery is not repairable, the dead cells will go to recycling, the remaining functional parts are used to repair other batteries. »

— Marina Vernaton - Sales Marketing Positions at Nowos

Nowos' approach to lithium-ion battery repair is innovative and suggests a promising future for this new sector. Increased awareness of repair among mobility stakeholders and the development of the lithium-ion battery repair profession (which does not exist today) would help to promote the circular economy around the battery.

The recycling

The responsibility of recycling belongs to the manufacturer of the battery. However, as soon as the electrically assisted bicycle, as a product, crosses a national border, the importer automatically becomes the manufacturer. Thus, the mobility actors are responsible for the management of the end of life of the battery. They are obliged to sign contracts with recycling companies such as Corepile, Screlec, or Euro Dieuze, to ensure proper waste management. These recycling companies will then give a second life to these batteries whose components (lithium, aluminum, copper ...) will be sorted and then reused in the manufacture of new objects such as keys, tools or even frames of e-scooters.

Qucit Bike optimize your battery swapping tours!

To face the battery challenge in micro-mobility, Qucit helps operators to optimize their battery swapping tours with the Qucit Bike software.

The software consists of two interfaces:

A dashboard, designed for the manager, to visualize in real time the status of the system and to analyze all operations performed.

A mobile application, used by the technical teams on the field, helping them to carry out their battery swapping tours in an optimal and ecological way.

To learn more about our application, make an appointment with our team!

Battery swap — *Qucit Bike optimize your battery swapping tours!*

Batteries: the nerve of the electric mobility