1) Around six million e-bikes have been sold in Germany in the past ten years - and therefore at least as many lithium-ion batteries that supply the pedelecs with power. The share of e-mountainbikes in the overall e-market is steadily increasing. In 2018, e-MTBs accounted for 25 per cent; concrete figures for 2019 are not yet available, but should be significantly higher than 2019 according to the German Bicycle Industry Association (ZIV). E-mountain bikers are therefore also contributing to the fact that more and more lithium-ion batteries are being put into circulation - and will have to be disposed of at some point. This is because the high-tech batteries lose their capacity over time. Depending on care and usage behaviour, they are largely worn out after five to seven years. Many thousands of tonnes of old batteries must therefore be successively disposed of and recycled.
2) The life of a lithium-ion battery is finite. 1000 charging cycles, they say, then the critical capacity limit is reached. However, how long the battery actually performs its service depends largely on the owner. If you treat your battery correctly, you can significantly delay its end.
You can find everything about the disposal and recycling of rechargeable batteries AND an 11-point plan for a longer shelf life in the rechargeable battery report from EMTB 1/2020 - the PDF is available in the download area below.
