A new European initiative designed to strengthen battery safety across urban transport systems has launched with London as its first pilot city.
The European Urban Battery Safety Intelligence project aims to offer a further layer of safety intelligence on batteries, using evidence from public transport and micro-mobility pilots to produce practical guidance for operators and cities considering similar approaches.
It will test how battery, charging and operational data can identify developing battery risks before combustion. The Battery Safety Intelligence platform, developed by Norwegian battery-safety technology company EPTTAS, combines operational battery data, environmental context and AI-driven analysis.
The project gives operators earlier warnings and practical information, creating more time to stop charging, isolate a vehicle or take other appropriate action before a developing issue becomes a fire or wider incident, it said.
In London, the consortium intends to work with Transport for London (TfL) to define the data required and assess the suitability of the existing vehicle telematics and fleet management systems used by operators across the London bus network.
Any deployment of devices or systems beyond the pilot will depend on the evidence and learning generated through this work, it added.
EPTTAS leads the EUBSI consortium, which also includes TfL, the Danish Technological Institute, Acoustic Emission Service Oy and Ryde. Ryde, one of Europe’s largest micromobility operators, is one of two pilot partners in the EUBSI project.
The project will connect 25,000 Ryde e-scooters across Gothenburg, Berlin, Helsinki and Oslo, with this work beginning in parallel with the London pilot. EPTTAS is also formalising a separate partnership with Voi, another of Europe’s largest micromobility operators.
Voi, which operates in London under TfL’s rental e-scooter trial, will not be part of the EUBSI project.
Robert Eriksen Jacobsen, CEO and Founder of EPTTAS, said:
“London will give us the opportunity to test EUBSI and our technology in the context of a major public-transport system. By making better use of battery and operational data, we will give operators clearer sight of developing risks and more time to respond before they become fires or wider incidents.
“Our work with TfL in London and Ryde across Gothenburg, Berlin, Helsinki and Oslo will establish the data and integrations needed for this approach to work in day-to-day operations. The learning from these pilots will inform practical guidance for other cities and operators across Europe.”
Tobias Balchen, CEO at Ryde, said:
“Battery safety is a shared challenge for cities and mobility operators across Europe. EUBSI enables us to use real-world data from our fleets in Gothenburg, Berlin, Helsinki and Oslo to address this challenge by understanding how developing risks can be identified earlier. More broadly, the project will contribute to practical learning that can support safer micromobility operations across the sector.”
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