FRANKFURT (BRAIN) — Erik Bär has seen e-bike batteries from China come into Germany with fraudulent certification, so he knows about the chilling effect unregulated lithium-ion packs can have in the marketplace and understands the angst in the U.S., especially in New York City right now.
"Some companies in Germany made the mistake with some batteries from China in the past year," Bär said from the E-Bike Vision booth at Eurobike on Thursday. "I can see just from the design of the battery whether it fulfills the standards or not. There are many batteries in the market with fake certification."
Bär is chief operating officer of parent company Akku Vision, a lithium-ion battery manufacturer since 2011 in Haibach, Germany. It produces between 40,000 and 50,000 lithium-ion battery packs a year and could reach 80,000 by this time next year, he said. It also is an OEM battery pack supplier for Oli eBike Systems and Revonte drive manufacturers.
As New York City passes legislation to curb the lithium-ion battery incidents — the latest being a bike shop fire that killed four in Chinatown on Tuesday — Bär and the E-Bike Vision team were displaying EN, ISO, and UL batteries compatiable with brands like Bosch, Yamaha, Brose, and Panasonic and a new battery test device. OEM chargers can be used with E-Bike Vision batteries, and the brand also can supply its own charger.
It could soon add another big brand.
"On Saturday, we have an appointment here with Shimano Japan to discuss becoming an official supplier to Shimano," Bär said.
The manufacturer sources its cells primarily from Japan and South Korea, using LG, Samsung, Murata-Sony, and Panasonic. In the last year, Bär said it also has been using Chinese cell suppliers EVE Energy and BAK.
Bär said while E-Bike Vision batteries are priced comparable to the brand names, it offers more capacity, as much as 100 Wh more.
"Priced the same, but with more capacity," he said. "We can deliver our products timely without supply-chain constraints."
The U.S. market accounts for only 2% of E-Bike Vision sales with its batteries sold online at various European sites like Batteri24.de and KS-Bikes.de, said Bär, who added the company is working toward building a U.S. presence. He said some production could move to the U.S. in the future, sharing an existing U.S. manufacturer's production line. E-Bike Vision utilizes four European distributors.
Akku Vision debuted its new Test Tower at its booth, which connects to a PC or notebook to analyze battery health and performance. It's designed for dealers and OEMs. The Test Tower can discharge a battery fully, and voltage, capacity, current, and temperature can be recorded. At first, it primarily will be compatible with its own batteries and Bosch, but software updates will expand compatibility with all battery systems.
