Electric bike production

The transition might not start with cars. Scooters are an inexpensive substitute for cars in many countries. Several companies believe fuel cell scooters can be a viable option in these countries. Gasoline-powered scooters have been banned from cities such as Beijing and Shanghai because of the amount of pollution they spew. These bikes and scooters are very popular in Beijing, where the scooters sell for less than 300. In response to such bans, a market in electric bicycles and scooters has developed. While these bikes do not travel at the speeds of scooters, they are considerably cheaper. China Daily (2006) reports that China plans on producing 30 million electric bikes per year by 2010 and notes that "electric bike production in China accounts for about 90% of the world s total." While these bikes are not powered by fuel cells, they do offer speedy transportation at a fraction of the cost of automobiles. 

The applications described in Sections 8.1.7.1 to 8.1.7.3 are expected to have the potential to become high volume products. However, numerous niche applications with more relaxed cost requirements as compared to the mass markets are available. Electric power can be provided where there is no electric grid connection such as for light transportation (electric bikes, wheelchairs), as auxiliary power units (trucks, boats), remote area power supply (mountains, camping), for appliances (lawn mower, vacuum cleaner), for military and defence purposes, space travel or for electric grid back-up where availability is crucial (telecommunication, computing). 

Valence Technology Inc. is a manufacturer of lithium iron magnesium phosphate battery packs (U-Charge XP of 12, 18 or 36 V) dedicated to electric bikes, scooters, cars and marine applications. According to the producer, this battery offers higher safety with twice the runtime and less than half the mass of similar size lead-acid batteries. On July 12th 2012 Valence filed for bankruptcy protection the company expects to reorganize itself and continue production of its battery systems. 

In 2010, production of electric bikes in China reached 13.43 million units in 2012 and 2013, it rose to 20.28 million and 25.29 million, respectively. The sales value over the next 5 years is expected to increase at a ratio of at least 6% (Figure 16.6). With the increasing numbers of senior and elderly people in China, more electric bikes will use lithium-ion batteries, which are light and have high energy density. 

The system is the combination or interrelation of hardware, software, people, and the operating environment. In system safety engineering, you must look at the system from cradle to grave. In other words, the system life cycle is the design, development, test, production, operation, maintenance, expansion, and retirement (or disposal) of the system. A nuclear power plant is one large system with operators, pressure subsystems, electrical and mechanical subsystems, structural containment, safety systems, etc. A far simpler example is a boy riding his bike. The bike, the boy, the street (with all its traffic conditions), the weather, the time of day, and even other children make up the system of boy on his bike. 

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