I yeeted an electric bicycle battery into a tub of water to see what happens
I test a lot of electric bicycles. It’s kind of my whole thing. People tell me I test more e-bikes than anyone else on the internet, but who’s counting, right? Yet here’s the thing: most of my e-bike testing involves just riding around on e-bikes to see how well they perform.
This time though, I got the chance to try something entirely different. That’s right, I chucked an e-bike battery from the new Velotric Discover 2 into a tub full of water just for the hell of it.
I mean, it wasn’t purely without cause. Technically, it was for science.
Basically, I wanted to see just how waterproof a “waterproof” battery could be. And in a time when battery safety is more important than ever, the results actually matter. Not that most people are taking their e-bike snorkeling with them. But water ingress into e-bike batteries is a leading cause of the still-rare fires we tend to see on the news, and so improving waterproofing of batteries is critical.
The Velotric Discover 2 commuter e-bike, which was released late last month, comes with an impressive level of waterproofing. The bike is rated at IPX6, meaning you can pressure wash it without worrying about water getting into the electronics or damaging anything.
But the battery is even more waterproof, rated at IPX7. That means it can survive swimming in up to one meter (39 inches) of water. Theoretically, you could toss it in the shallow end of your neighborhood swimming pool, fish it back out, and it should work just fine.
So that’s what I did.
Except that to avoid getting my family in trouble with their local HOA, I decided not to use their actual neighborhood pool. Instead, I recreated the local pool with a tub of water. I probably didn’t achieve the exact ratio of kiddie pee, but this is more of an art than a science at this point.
So there I was. With the Velotric Discover 2 battery in my hands, hoisted aloft Simba-on-Pride-Rock-style, and while wearing a seriously worried look on my face, I let ‘er rip.
In what felt like slow-motion in my mind, the battery fell through the air and crashed into the water face-first, sinking quickly to the bottom of the tub and hitting the table below it.
In hindsight, I probably should have just gently placed it into the tub of water, since the dramatic fall from above my head that I sent it on resulted in an even more dramatic smacking sound as it bottomed out quickly on the, well, bottom.
It may be IPX7-rated for water resistance, but I don’t know how high of a fall it’s supposed to handle. Whoops.
Anyway, what’s done was done, and the only way out was back up the way it came. So I fished around and yanked the battery back out of the tub as water poured out of the electrical connectors and from the charging port. This was starting to feel all sorts of wrong.
I shook off the excess water from the connector, figuring it’s probably good if I don’t just dump a handful of water into the connections on the bike. Then I gave it a cursory wipe on my shirt and slotted the battery back into the Discover 2 e-bike. An unnecessary slap-on-the-back confirmed for me that it was locked and loaded.
All that was left was to push the ‘On’ button and hold my breath. A second later, “VELOTRIC” flashed across the e-bike’s bright yellow display.
And then the display immediately died. Uh oh.
I pushed the power button again, and again the display lit up. And then it shut back down.
Putting the idiot adage to the test, I repeated the exact same thing for a third time, hoping for different results.
And this time it worked! Enough water must have drained from the battery connections in the time it took during the previous two attempts to clear whatever electrical short was erroring-out the startup sequence. I mashed the throttle and the bike’s rear wheel sprung to life, whirring up to full speed like a sopping wet golden retriever splashing back out of the pool with a hard-earned tennis ball in its mouth.
A mere 10 seconds after the battery had been sleepin’ with the fishes, so to speak, it was back in an e-bike and powering me up to 20 mph!
This shouldn’t have come as a surprise to me, that’s exactly what the battery is built for. This was the whole reason I was even doing the test, mind you.
And yet, I was still just a bit shocked. Tossing an e-bike battery into a bucket of water has a real ‘cuddling an iron in the bathtub’ vibe to it. Nevertheless, here I am, still kicking.
This is a pretty amazing feat, and I don’t know of any other electric bike batteries that can do this. But I sure hope the industry is taking note and working to achieve this level of waterproofing.
We’ve seen some modest advancement in batteries over the past few years, but as scrutiny over battery safety continues to grow, it’s these kinds of innovations that are going to continue pushing the industry forward towards safer and more effective e-bikes. And that’s a benefit for everyone.
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Japanese equipment giant Kubota brought 22 new or updated machines to the 2025 bauma expo earlier this year, but tucked away in the corners was a new retrofit kit that can help existing customers decarbonize more quickly, and more affordably.
No matter how badly a fleet may want to electrify, harsh economic realities and the greater up-front costs typically associated with battery electric remain high hurdles to overcome, but new retrofit options from major manufacturers are popping up to help lower those obstacles.
The latest equipment maker to put its name on the retrofit list is Kubota, who says its kit can be installed by a trained dealer in a single day.
That’s right! By this time tomorrow, your diesel-powered Kubota KX019 or U27-4 excavator (shown) could be fitted with an 18 or 20 kWh li-ion battery pack and electric drive motors and ready to get to work in a low-noise or low-vibration work environment where emissions are a strict no-no. Think indoor precision demolition or historic archeological excavation.
Then, if necessary, it can go right back to diesel power.
From diesel to electric and back again
If that sounds familiar, that’s because we’ve talked about a similarly flexible power solution from ZQUIP. The battery packs and diesel engines are much larger in that application, but the basic sales pitch remains the same: electric when it benefits your operation, diesel it doesn’t.
Kubota says its modular retrofit kits is a response to the increasing global demand for sustainable alternatives by focusing on making machinery that’s flexible and repairable enough to be “reusable,” and offer construction fleet managers a longer operational lifespan, superior ROI (return on investment), and lower TCO (total cost of ownership) than the competition.
Kubota’s solution also notably reduces maintenance costs and operational overheads. With no engine and associated components, servicing time and expenses are considerably reduced, saving customers both time and money. Additionally, with electricity costing far less than fossil fuels, it offers a highly economical advantage.
International Rental News reports that other changes to the excavators include a more modern cab controls with a digital instrument cluster, a 60 mm wider undercarriage for more stability, and an independent travel circuit allows operators to use the boom, dipper, bucket, and auxiliary functions without an impact on tracking performance.
Kubota’s new kit, first shown at last year’s Hillhead exhibition in the UK, will officially be on sale this summer – any day now, in fact – though pricing has yet to be announced.
Electrek’s Take
If you’re wondering how it is that we’re still talking about bauma 2025 a full quarter after the show wrapped up, then I haven’t done a good enough job of explaining how positively massive the show was. Check out this Quick Charge episode (above) then let us know what you think of Kubota’s modular power kits in the comments.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Kubota, via International Rental News.
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Elon Musk isn’t happy about Trump passing the Big Beautiful Bill and killing off the $7,500 EV tax credit – but there’s a lot more bad news for Tesla baked into the BBB. We’ve got all that and more on today’s budget-busting episode of Quick Charge!
We also present ongoing coverage of the 2025 Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix and dive into some two wheeled reports on the new electric Honda Ruckus e:Zoomer, the latest BMW electric two-wheeler, and more!
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If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
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Environment
FERC: Solar + wind made up 96% of new US power generating capacity in first third of 2025
Solar and wind accounted for almost 96% of new US electrical generating capacity added in the first third of 2025. In April, solar provided 87% of new capacity, making it the 20th consecutive month solar has taken the lead, according to data belatedly posted on July 1 by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and reviewed by the SUN DAY Campaign.
Solar’s new generating capacity in April 2025 and YTD
In its latest monthly “Energy Infrastructure Update” report (with data through April 30, 2025), FERC says 50 “units” of solar totaling 2,284 megawatts (MW) were placed into service in April, accounting for 86.7% of all new generating capacity added during the month.
In addition, the 9,451 MW of solar added during the first four months of 2025 was 77.7% of the new generation placed into service.
Solar has now been the largest source of new generating capacity added each month for 20 consecutive months, from September 2023 to April 2025.
Solar + wind were >95% of new capacity in 1st third of 2025
Between January and April 2025, new wind provided 2,183 MW of capacity additions, accounting for 18.0% of new additions in the first third.
In the same period, the combination of solar and wind was 95.7% of new capacity while natural gas (511 MW) provided just 4.2%; the remaining 0.1% came from oil (11 MW).
Solar + wind are >22% of US utility-scale generating capacity
The installed capacities of solar (11.0%) and wind (11.8%) are now each more than a tenth of the US total. Together, they make up almost one-fourth (22.8%) of the US’s total available installed utility-scale generating capacity.
Moreover, at least 25-30% of US solar capacity is in small-scale (e.g., rooftop) systems that are not reflected in FERC’s data. Including that additional solar capacity would bring the share provided by solar + wind to more than a quarter of the US total.
With the inclusion of hydropower (7.7%), biomass (1.1%), and geothermal (0.3%), renewables currently claim a 31.8% share of total US utility-scale generating capacity. If small-scale solar capacity is included, renewables are now about one-third of total US generating capacity.
Solar is on track to become No. 2 source of US generating capacity
FERC reports that net “high probability” additions of solar between May 2025 and April 2028 total 90,158 MW – an amount almost four times the forecast net “high probability” additions for wind (22,793 MW), the second-fastest growing resource. Notably, both three-year projections are higher than those provided just a month earlier.
FERC also foresees net growth for hydropower (596 MW) and geothermal (92 MW) but a decrease of 123 MW in biomass capacity.
Taken together, the net new “high probability” capacity additions by all renewable energy sources over the next three years – i.e., the bulk of the Trump administration’s remaining time in office – would total 113,516 MW.
FERC doesn’t include any nuclear capacity in its three-year forecast, while coal and oil are projected to contract by 24,373 MW and 1,915 MW, respectively. Natural gas capacity would expand by 5,730 MW.
Thus, adjusting for the different capacity factors of gas (59.7%), wind (34.3%), and utility-scale solar (23.4%), electricity generated by the projected new solar capacity to be added in the coming three years should be at least six times greater than that produced by the new natural gas capacity, while the electrical output by new wind capacity would be more than double that by gas.
If FERC’s current “high probability” additions materialize, by May 1, 2028, solar will account for one-sixth (16.6%) of US installed utility-scale generating capacity. Wind would provide an additional one-eighth (12.6%) of the total. That would make each greater than coal (12.2%) and substantially more than nuclear power or hydropower (7.3% and 7.2%, respectively).
In fact, assuming current growth rates continue, the installed capacity of utility-scale solar is likely to surpass that of either coal or wind within two years, placing solar in second place for installed generating capacity, behind only natural gas.
Renewables + small-scale solar may overtake natural gas within 3 years
The mix of all utility-scale (ie, >1 MW) renewables is now adding about two percentage points each year to its share of generating capacity. At that pace, by May 1, 2028, renewables would account for 37.7% of total available installed utility-scale generating capacity – rapidly approaching that of natural gas (40.1%). Solar and wind would constitute more than three-quarters of installed renewable energy capacity. If those trend lines continue, utility-scale renewable energy capacity should surpass that of natural gas in 2029 or sooner.
However, as noted, FERC’s data do not account for the capacity of small-scale solar systems. If that’s factored in, within three years, total US solar capacity could exceed 300 GW. In turn, the mix of all renewables would then be about 40% of total installed capacity while the share of natural gas would drop to about 38%.
Moreover, FERC reports that there may actually be as much as 224,426 MW of net new solar additions in the current three-year pipeline in addition to 69,530 MW of new wind, 9,072 MW of new hydropower, 202 MW of new geothermal, and 39 MW of new biomass. By contrast, net new natural gas capacity potentially in the three-year pipeline totals just 26,818 MW. Consequently, renewables’ share could be even greater by mid-spring 2028.
“The Trump Administration’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ … poses a clear threat to solar and wind in the years to come,” noted the SUN DAY Campaign’s executive director, Ken Bossong. “Nonetheless, FERC’s latest data and forecasts suggest cleaner and lower-cost renewable energy sources may still dominate and surpass nuclear power, coal, and natural gas.”
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