Lithium batteries have completely changed the way we store energy... and today they are everywhere. From disposable vapes to transportation systems, it's very likely you have a cell (or thousands) inside. And so we travel to Indonesia, where the lack of regulation combined with a subsidy for electric bicycles in 2023 gave rise to a dizzying DIY battery underworld. Users get more range for less money... with all the risks that entails.
I have lithium batteries on my desk, in mobile devices, in power banks... and even in my head, with an 18650 cell adapted to Bluetooth headphones. I can definitely say that lithium batteries are part of my life; however, in some regions of the globe they have started a revolution, as is the case of Indonesia.
DIY Lithium Batteries in Indonesian Shops
Source: Rest of World
Rest of World explains it in detail: In 2023, the Indonesian government announced a subsidy of 7 million rupiah (about $445) for all electric bicycles built with a specific amount of local parts. That stimulus led to the registration of 62,000 new units in September of that year, almost three times more than the previous period. At the same time, authorities have not implemented regulations affecting the construction of batteries in homes and small businesses, creating fertile ground for alternative and DIY models.
Low cost and greater autonomy form a very tempting combination. One of the users interviewed in the article says he sold his electric bicycle's original battery for 17 million rupiah ($1,081) and bought a custom battery for 13 million rupiah ($827), which extended his range to 150 kilometers. In other words, that operation earned him more than $250 and 50 extra kilometers.
This practice has become very popular, and as expected, not few are those who highlight the intrinsic risks of DIY batteries. Capacity, internal resistance, and discharge rate are values that must be measured carefully, and if there is not a certain uniformity among cells, the battery could cause all sorts of problems. On the other hand, the chaotic nature of the market feeds the lack of standards shared among companies, with more than twenty different formats.
Source: Rest of World
