A New Choice for Green Travel: NiMH Batteries Help Electric Bicycles

A new choice for green travel: NiMH batteries help electric bicycles

Driven by the accelerated urbanization process and the improvement of environmental awareness, electric bicycles are becoming an ideal choice for short-distance travel in cities. Among the many power battery technologies, NiMH batteries, with their unique performance advantages, are providing safer and more environmentally friendly power solutions for electric bicycles, pushing green travel into a new stage.

Power demand in the electric bicycle market

Modern electric bicycles have three core requirements for power systems: safety, durability and environmental protection. Urban commuting requires batteries to withstand frequent starts and stops; commercial scenarios such as express delivery and takeout require batteries to have fast charging capabilities; and community use pays more attention to the safety performance of batteries. Compared with the thermal runaway risk of lithium batteries and the pollution problem of lead-acid batteries, NiMH batteries show unique competitive advantages. Market research data shows that the penetration rate of NiMH batteries in the field of electric bicycles has reached 18% in 2022, and is expected to exceed 30% in 2025.

The travel advantages of nickel-hydrogen batteries

Nickel-hydrogen batteries bring four core values to electric bicycles: first, excellent safety. It uses aqueous electrolytes to fundamentally eliminate the risk of fire and explosion; second, ultra-long life, with charge and discharge cycles of more than 1,500 times, which is 2-3 times that of ordinary lithium batteries; third, wide temperature adaptability, which can maintain stable output in an environment of -30℃ to 50℃; and finally, environmental protection characteristics, with a battery recycling rate of more than 95%. Actual measurements show that electric bicycles equipped with nickel-hydrogen batteries can still maintain more than 85% of their endurance in an environment of minus 20 degrees, which is particularly suitable for use in northern cities in winter.

Actual application performance

At the Beijing Hutong Express Station, the electric bicycle fleet using nickel-hydrogen batteries has achieved efficient delivery of "5-minute fast charging and all-weather operation". After a shared electric motorcycle company in Shanghai introduced nickel-hydrogen batteries, the average daily frequency of use of bicycles increased by 40%, and the operation and maintenance costs decreased by 25%. What is more noteworthy is that the cascade utilization value of nickel-hydrogen batteries is significant. After reorganization, retired batteries can be used in community energy storage systems to maximize the value of the entire life cycle.

Future Development Trends

With the continuous optimization of material formulas, the energy density of the new generation of nickel-metal hydride batteries is increasing at a rate of 5-8% per year. The application of intelligent battery management systems enables nickel-metal hydride battery packs to achieve precise charge and discharge control. Driven by industry-university-research cooperation, the production cost of nickel-metal hydride batteries has been reduced by 40% compared with five years ago, and the cost-effectiveness advantage is becoming increasingly prominent. It is expected that by 2026, nickel-metal hydride battery electric bicycles with a single charge range of 100 kilometers will be mass-produced.

Nickel-metal hydride batteries are redefining the power standards of electric bicycles, providing safer, more economical and more environmentally friendly options for urban green travel. This time-tested battery technology is helping to build a sustainable urban transportation system with its stable and reliable characteristics. When more and more electric bicycles are equipped with nickel-metal hydride "hearts", our cities will be one step closer to the goal of carbon neutrality.