Beijing releases three group standards for electric bicycles

Under the guidance of the Beijing Municipal Market Supervision Bureau and organized by the Beijing Bicycle and Electric Vehicle Industry Association, three group standards, namely "Technical Specifications for Lithium-ion Power Battery Packs for Electric Bicycles", "Technical Specifications for Chargers for Electric Bicycles", and "Guidelines for the Safe Use of Electric Bicycles", were officially released on the National Group Standard Information Platform on December 13, 2021. This is the first release of similar standards in the local electric bicycle industry.

The two group standards, "Technical Specifications for Lithium-ion Power Battery Packs for Electric Bicycles" and "Technical Specifications for Chargers for Electric Bicycles", focus on market needs and regulatory requirements, and make clear requirements on the naming of battery models and permanent unique coding identification of battery packs, protection against electric shock at charging and discharging interfaces, installation of battery management systems (BMS) in battery packs, and safety of electrical output interfaces, charger classification and charger protection levels, filling the gap in safety technical requirements for lithium batteries and chargers for electric bicycles. The "Guidelines for the Safe Use of Electric Bicycles" guides electric bicycle users on the safety requirements that need to be met in daily links such as purchase, use, parking, charging, and maintenance, and provides standard guidance for the safe use of electric bicycles.

The formulation of the above group standards provides clear technical guidance for production, sales and users. It is of great significance to promote the quality upgrade of electric bicycles and supporting products, promote the healthy development of the industry, improve the service level of enterprises, and the comprehensive management of the electric bicycle industry.

Glossary

1. Permanent polarity identification of battery pack:

Polarity markings are usually used to indicate the positive and negative polarity of direct current;

The permanent unique coding identification specified in the standard allows for easy preservation and traceability after accidents such as fire.

2. Charge and discharge interface anti-electric shock protection:

Prevent direct contact between positive and negative poles, and separate the positive and negative poles directly; it plays a protective role for consumers' safe use.

3. Install battery management system (BMS) on battery pack:

The standard specifies the specific contents of the battery management system (BMS), requiring it to have real-time data collection, fault alarm, protection, communication, and data upload functions. It can effectively monitor the health of the battery pack during use and promptly alarm for faults, thereby playing a safety protection role.

4. Safety of electrical output interface:

It is stipulated that the output interface of the charger (nominal voltage 48V and below) should not be plugged into the input interface that complies with GB/T 2099.1 and GB 1002; the two metal conductive parts of the positive and negative poles of the DC output terminal of the charger cannot be touched at the same time.

It means that it cannot be plugged into some common interfaces. For example, if you make the battery charger into a USB port, you can also charge it, but the user may plug it into a computer. This will cause damage or safety accidents. It cannot be touched at the same time to prevent normal output; it plays a protective role in safety. If the fingers touch the two electrodes at the same time, it will cause electric shock.

5. Charger classification:

The group standard stipulates the classification of chargers with reference to GB/T36944-2018

One type has a metal shell and must be grounded using a three-prong plug;

The second type is generally plastic shell, and can use a two-prong AC plug;

At present, most of the new national standards use Class II plastic casings; low-power ones generally use plastic casings, and high-power ones generally use metal casings for heat dissipation; a small part of fast charging and high current uses metal casings.