Bordeaux based Gouach is to make its “fireproof” e-bike battery directly available to consumers. The Gouach Infinite Battery is said to be compatible with 90% of e-bikes and is designed to be repairable by owners themselves.
As we reported last year, with more and more owners finding themselves in the position of needing to replace worn-out old e-bike batteries, Gouach has decided to challenge this model of obsolescence with a solderless design that allows worn-out cells to be easily replaced.
This is a doubly striking approach given growing concerns about DIY meddling with e-bike technology and with batteries in particular.
E-bikes and e-scooters have become London’s “fastest growing fire risk”, according to the London Fire Brigade and official government advice warns that, "buying a complete e-bike is generally safer," than buying an e-bike conversion kit – in large part because carrying out the work introduces additional variables when it comes to safety.
Replacement batteries are also flagged as an area of particular concern in the government guidance: “Genuine battery packs and chargers may cost more, but using third-party items that may not be safe or compatible could put your life at risk or destroy your home.”
These concerns are increasingly shared by the public with retailers reporting that, 'Are e-bikes safe?' has now become a more common question than whether they're 'cheating'.
The Confederation of the European Bicycle Industry (CONEBI) is a strong supporter of only using OEM certified batteries on e-bikes, recommending that where a replacement is necessary, the owner seek out, “an authorised technically identical battery.” It also advises e-bike owners to forgo battery repairs.
Now that’s all well and good in theory - but what happens when your particular battery is no longer being manufactured? This is a question we have tackled before, finding few satisfactory answers.
> Old worn-out e-bike batteries: repair, recycle, refurbish or replace?
Gouach’s position is that batteries should be repairable. In fact they reckon the Infinite Battery can be fixed in under 10 minutes as any part can be replaced using just a screwdriver.
“We have made this battery available to the public so that those who want to assemble or maintain their own batteries can do that,” Gouach founder and CEO Alexandre Vallette told Zag Daily.
“However, since we are selling directly to customers, we must ensure that there is no risk of fire, even if they make an error or use failing cells for example.”
Key to this is a new, thick, aluminium casing and a design that is said to dissipate heat quickly. Some videos of Gouach's testing in this area are apparently on the way.
“I’m getting 50 emails a day from customers telling me they’re excited to have control over their battery and e-bike,” said Vallette. “It empowers them. Some people say they’ve been able to service their own car but until now there hasn’t been a way to service their own e-bike."
Gouach’s Infinite Battery will be available to consumers and manufacturers in the US and Europe with a Kickstarter campaign due to launch later this month.
