PEDELEC LI-ION BATTERY PACK LIFETIME.

Energy policy of EU promotes electro-mobility, especially the use of bicycles and electric bicycles. PEDELEC is a form of an electric bicycle that does not require a registry plate, and with a battery power 250 W electric motor helps the driver to overcome the altitude differences and influence of the wind. Batteries for electric bicycles are based on Li-Ion technology. Battery packs are made of standard cells that have a lifecycle of 1000 cycles. In realistic exploration conditions, the lifecycle is four years and up to a third of the declared cycle of use. The reason for this is the climatic conditions which lead to increased temperatures in usage and charging temperatures, which significantly reduce their life cycle. Paper on a practical example shows the dynamics of PEDELEC usage, energy needs for specific route characteristics, as well as changes in the thermal pattern of the battery and its condition after 4 years of use. The analysis was performed with Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) using infrared thermography, which confirmed the inhomogeneity of thermal patterns and the moment of final battery failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]