Electric bikes just may be the biggest transportation revolution of our generation, helping millions replace car usage with more affordable, more efficient alternatives. But there’s no denying that concerns have been swirling about the safety of e-bike batteries, even if such fire fears have primarily been overblown by much of the media.
Leading electric bicycle maker Rad Power Bikes has just unveiled its new “Safe Shield Battery” in an effort to mitigate worries over e-bike battery safety. And it’s something we need to talk about.
The whole underlying issue here is based on the fact that e-bike batteries are usually comprised of dozens of smaller, energy-dense lithium-ion battery cells. Those cells are similar – and sometimes identical – to the battery cells used in everything from electric cars to power tool battery packs.
The individual battery cells store lots of energy and are generally quite safe. However, danger can occur when the cells are punctured or short-circuited, with the latter often happening when water makes its way into battery packs over time. Well-made e-bike batteries use several methods to mitigate these risks, and the result is that battery fires are exceedingly rare. Even in e-bikes, which seem to unfairly receive the brunt of lithium-ion battery fire scaremongering, such fires occur in a tiny, tiny fraction of a percent of e-bikes.
To put things into perspective, New York City often gets labeled as the epicenter of e-bike fires, yet New Yorkers are somewhere around 5x more likely to die on the subway than from an e-bike fire.
However rare though, e-bike fires can and do occur in poorly made batteries or in battery packs that have been abused, damaged, or otherwise misused. And that’s exactly what it looks like Rad Power Bikes set out to solve with its new Safe Shield e-bike batteries.
The secret sauce in Rad’s batteries isn’t actually the battery cells themselves. Those are fairly standard cells like you’ll find in many other e-bike batteries. The major difference is how the battery packs are constructed.
They use a method known as potting, which basically encapsulates electronics in a waterproof resin barrier. It’s common in electronics that will live much of their lives outdoors, as it seals the sensitive components from moisture.
Remember that mosquito from Jurassic Park that was encased in tree resin amber? That’s kind of the idea with potted batteries, just with a urethane resin instead of tree sap. The battery pack already uses quality construction methods, but then to top it off, the entire thing is filled with resin that makes it impermeable to water – or intruding fingers, tools, or anything else. It’s forever sealed away from the world (though Rad says it’s still recyclable in their battery recycling program).
But it’s not just any resin, the idea is that it is also thermally insulating, which means that if one battery cell ever did go rouge and start overheating (an incredibly, incredibly rare event in well-made battery cells), the barrier would help protect any nearby cells from joining in and developing what is known as a “thermal runaway” condition that is what ultimately leads to the spread of most battery fires.
We spoke to one of the country’s leading battery experts Luke Workman on our Wheel-E podcast last year, who has often performed forensic evaluations in the aftermath of battery fires. When we asked him if there was anything that could be done to help mitigate the fire risks we were seeing in the e-bike industry, such as the widespread adoption of UL certification, he had a simple answer: “Potting.”
Workman explained that he’s performed post-fire forensic analysis on plenty of UL-certified battery packs, indicating that such certification isn’t a guarantee of safety. “You can pass UL water ingress tests with a bit of strategically placed tape over the battery seams,” he explained at the time. But potting was the truly safest method of building batteries that wasn’t intended to merely pass a certification test, but rather to actually ensure the battery cells were isolated and protected.
At the time, there was just one major company producing potted e-bike batteries, Luna Cycle, but it hasn’t gained significant traction anywhere else in the e-bike industry.
At least not until now.
With Rad Power Bikes adopting potted battery design practices, the entire industry has been put on notice. Until new technologies like fireproof solid-state batteries become commonplace, potted batteries are the single best defense against battery fires. And with one of the largest e-bike retailers in the country hopping aboard the potted train, others are all but sure to follow.
Rad has a history of setting examples that are quickly copied throughout the US e-bike industry. New e-bike models like the RadRunner spurred several copycats and jumpstarted the utility e-bike market. Rad’s expansions into several large brick-and-mortar stores pre-empted a major push by several other US e-bike companies to expand dealer networks with independent bike shops. Rad’s electric trike was quickly followed by several other competitors seeking to undercut its price.
In none of these examples was Rad the first e-bike company to make a major move, but it was the first big e-bike company to do so, and thus helped shift the industry each time. And while there’s no guarantee how the industry will react, especially in a year where e-bike sales have lagged behind the post-pandemic boom, there’s no doubt that a major e-bike maker finally adopting potted battery technology is a sign of where the industry is headed. How long it takes us to get there though, that’s anyone’s guess.
resin pouring image via: Pexels
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Environment
EcoFlow members can save up to 65% on power stations while supporting disaster relief during the 2025 Member’s Festival
Portable power station specialist EcoFlow is kicking off its third annual Member’s Festival this month and is offering a unique new rewards program to those who become EcoFlow members. The 2025 EcoFlow Member’s Festival will offer savings of up to 65% for its participating customers, and a portion of those funds will be allocated toward rescue power solutions for communities around the globe through the company’s “Power for All” fund.
EcoFlow remains one of the industry leaders in portable power solutions and continues to trek forward in its vision to power a new tech-driven, eco-conscious future. Per its website:
Our mission from day one is to provide smart and eco-friendly energy solutions for individuals, families, and society at large. We are, were, and will continue to be a reliable and trusted energy companion for users around the world.
To achieve such goals, EcoFlow has continued to expand its portfolio of sustainable energy solutions to its community members, including portable power stations, solar generators, and mountable solar panels. While EcoFlow is doing plenty to support its growing customer base, it has expanded its reach by giving back to disaster-affected communities by helping bolster global disaster response efforts the best way it knows how– with portable power solutions.
EcoFlow and its members look to provide “Power for All”
Since 2023, EcoFlow has collaborated with organizations worldwide as part of its “Power for All” mission. This initiative aims to ensure access to reliable and timely power to disaster-affected communities across the globe, including rescue agencies, affected hospitals, and shelters, to support rescue and recovery efforts.
This fund most recently provided aid for communities affected by the recent Los Angeles wildfires, assistance to the Special Forces Charitable Trust (SFCT) in North Carolina following severe hurricanes, and support for non-profits engaged in hurricane preparedness in Florida and the Gulf Coast. Per Jodi Burns, CEO of the Special Forces Charitable Trust:
In the wake of devastating storms in Western North Carolina, reliable power was a critical need for the families we serve. Thanks to EcoFlow’s generous donation of generators, we were able to provide immediate relief, ensuring these families and their communities had access to power when they needed it most. We are so impressed with EcoFlow’s commitment to disaster response through their ‘Power for All’ program. It has made a tangible impact, and we are deeply grateful for their support and partnership in helping these families recover and rebuild.
In 2024, the US experienced 27 weather and climate events, each causing losses exceeding $1 billion, marking the second-highest annual total on record, according to National Centers for Environmental Information. The increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters underscore the critical need for reliable and timely power solutions during emergencies, much like EcoFlow and its members are helping provide through the “Power For All” initiative.
To support new and existing EcoFlow members, the company is celebrating its third annual Member’s Festival throughout April to offer a do-not-miss discount on its products and donate a portion of all sales to the “Power for All” fund to provide rescue power to those in need in the future. Learn how it all works below.
Save big and give back during the 2025 Member’s Festival
As of April 1st, you can now sign up to become an EcoFlow member to participate in the company’s exclusive 2025 Member Festival.
As a member, you can earn “EcoFlow Power Points” by completing tasks like registration, referrals, and product purchases and tracking your individual efforts toward disaster preparedness and recovery.
Beginning April 4, EcoFlow members will also be able to take advantage of exclusive discounts of up to 65% off select portable power stations, including the DELTA Pro Ultra, DELTA Pro 3, DELTA 2 Max, DELTA 3 Plus, RIVER 3 Plus, and more. However, these sale prices only last through April 25, so you’ll want to move quickly!
Click here to learn more about EcoFlow’s “Power for All” campaign. To register for EcoFlow’s 2025 Member Festival in the US, visit the EcoFlow website. To register as a member in Canada, visit here.
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Tesla is losing another top talent: its long-time head of software, David Lau, has reportedly told co-workers that he is exiting the automaker.
Tesla changed how the entire auto industry looks at software.
Before Tesla, it was an afterthought; user interfaces were rudimentary, and you had to go to a dealership to get a software update on your systems.
When Tesla launched the Model S in 2012, it all changed. Your car would get better through software updates like your phone, the large center display was responsive with a UI that actually made sense and was closer to an iPad experience than a car.
Tesla also integrated its software into its retail experience, service, and manufacturing.
David Lau deserves a lot of the credit for that.
He joined Tesla in 2012 as a senior manager of firmware engineering and quickly rose through the ranks. By 2014, he was promoted to director of firmware engineering and system integration, and in 2017, he became Vice President of software.
Lau listed the responsibilities of his team on his LinkedIn:
- Vehicle Software:
- Firmware for the powertrain, traction/stability control, HV electronics, battery management, and body control systems
- UI software and underlying Embedded Linux platforms
- Navigation and routing
- iOS and Android Mobile apps
- Distributed Systems:
- Server-side software and infrastructure that provides telemetry, diagnostics, over-the-air updates, and configuration/lifecycle management
- Data engineering and analytics platforms that power technical and business insights for an increasingly diverse set of customers across the company
- Diagnostic tools and fleet management, Manufacturing and Automation:
- Automation controls (PLC, robot)
- Server-side manufacturing execution systems that power all of Tesla’s production operations
- Product Security and Red Team for software, services, and systems across Tesla
Bloomberg reported today that Lau told his team he is leaving Tesla. The report didn’t include reasons for his stepping down.
Electrek’s Take
Twelve years at any company is a great run. At Tesla, it’s heroic. Congrats, David, on a great run. You undoubtedly had a significant impact on Tesla and software advancements in the broader auto industry.
He is another significant loss for Tesla, which has been losing a lot of top talent following a big wave of layoffs around this time last year.
I wonder who will take over. Michael Rizkalla, senior director of software engineering and vehicle firmware, is one of the most senior software engineers after Lau. He has been at Tesla for 7 years, and Tesla likes to promote within rather than hire outsiders.
There are also a lot of senior software execs working on AI at Tesla. Musk has been favoring them lately and he could fold Lau’s responsibilities under them.
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Kia’s electric SUVs are taking over. The EV3 is the best-selling retail EV in the UK this year, giving Kia its strongest sales start since it arrived 34 years ago. And it’s not just in the UK. Kia just had its best first quarter globally since it started selling cars in 1962.
Kia EV3 is the best-selling EV in the UK through March
In March, Kia sold a record nearly 20,000 vehicles in the UK, making it the fourth best-selling brand. It was also the second top-seller of electrified vehicles (EVs, PHEVs, and HEVs), accounting for over 55% of sales.
The EV3 remained the best-selling retail EV in the UK last month. Including the EV6, three-row EV9, and Niro EV, electric vehicles represented 21% of Kia’s UK sales in March.
Kia said the EV3 “started with a bang” in January, darting out as the UK’s most popular EV in retail sales. Through March, Kia’s electric SUV has held on to the crown. With the EV3 rolling out, Kia sold over 7,000 electric cars through March, nearly 50% more than in Q1 2024.
The EV3 was the best-selling retail EV in the UK in the first quarter and the fourth best-selling EV overall, including commercial vehicles.
Starting at £33,005 ($42,500), Kia said it’s the “brand’s most affordable EV yet.” It’s available with two battery packs, 58.3 kWh or 81.48 kWh, good for 430 km (270 miles) and 599 km (375 miles) of WLTP range, respectively.
With new EVs on the way, this could be just the start. Kia is launching several new EVs in the UK this year, including the EV4 sedan (and hatchback) and EV5 SUV. It also confirmed that the first PV5 electric vans will be delivered to customers by the end of the year.
Electrek’s Take
Globally, Kia sold a record 772,351 vehicles in the first quarter, its best since it started selling cars in 1962. With the new EV4, the brand’s first electric sedan and hatchback, launching this year, Kia looks to build on its momentum in 2025.
Kia has also made it very clear that it wants to be a global leader in the electric van market with its new Platform Beyond Vehicle (PBV) business, starting with the PV5 later this year.
Earlier today, we learned Kia’s midsize electric SUV, the EV5, is the fourth best-selling EV in Australia through March, outselling every BYD vehicle (at least for now). The EV5 is rolling out to new markets this year, including Canada, the UK, South Korea, and Mexico. However, it will not arrive in the US.
For those in the US, there are still a few Kia EVs to look forward to. Kia is launching the EV4 globally, including in the US, later this year. Although no date has been set, Kia confirmed the EV3 is also coming. It’s expected to arrive in mid-2026.
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