Electric scooters have been catching fireplace, forcing us to query what’s unsuitable. We know one thing is unsuitable as a result of electric scooters are usually not new. We additionally know that electric automobiles are usually not catching fireplace. To perceive this, right here’s a sliver of science. The Lithium-ion batteries used for electric scooters typically get overheated and burst into flames. This is a malfunction. But there’s extra. First, there was a large spurt of purchases of electric scooters, partly as a result of they’re extra reasonably priced, if considerably slower. Second, it’s unclear if all of the scooters that caught fireplace had been powered by licensed batteries. As of now, they need to adhere to the UL2272 requirements.
Despite about 15 producers in India, the standard of the batteries is unclear. Could a few of them have been imported from exterior, with no high quality management, to satisfy the rising demand? Third, had been these batteries and scooters ever examined for the fact of a scorching Indian summer time?
Fortunately, India has deftly dealt with related snags, beforehand. Remember the case of CNG buses bursting into flames about 21 years in the past? It induced a short-lived bus-phobia, however that was overcome by addressing the tech problem. The electric scooter concern requires the federal government to assist producers to collectively repair the issue and testing underneath Indian circumstances, and speed up elevated battery certification whereas shifting manufacturing to India as an alternative of imports from unsure amenities.
Electric autos are vital to repair the polluted air. Fining the producers is one thought, however India’s finest technical and regulatory minds must also be known as in to overcome this problem.
(The author is the founder and director, Chintan Environmental Research and Action Group)
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