Lime’s old e-bike batteries are now powering these Bluetooth speakers

Accessory manufacturer Gomi is launching a limited edition Bluetooth speaker powered by a battery from the old Lime e-bike. In its Declaration of partnership, Lime says that Gomi will use 50,000 battery cells from more than 1,000 old e-bikes. The result is a Bluetooth speaker that starts at £ 99 (about $ 138) with a 20-hour battery life and will be available for 30 days Kickstarter starts later today.

It is an interesting initiative that Lyme hopes will further reduce the environmental impact of its luxurious e-bikes, which are touted as a way to reduce dependence on cars for short trips. In the past, other shared micromobility options such as e-scooters have been criticized for their short life span. A 2019 report Estimation of their average lifespan at approximately four months.

Picture: Lime / Gomi

Although Lime says the speakers use “damaged” e-bike battery cells from their early-generation e-bikes, they have been cleaned and “rigorously tested” before being used in the speakers. The Gomi speakers cover is also made using 100 percent recycled plastic waste. Available in green, black, blue, and a “birthday cake”, speakers said that Gomi calls a “repair-for-life return service” that it says “they don’t need to be thrown away unnecessarily.”

E-bike batteries, like all rechargeables, have a limited number of charged bicycles. For example, OneMoff says that the integrated batteries used in its S3 and X3 e-bikes are gone. 800 charged bicycles before falling below 70 percent (And eligible for replacement). As e-bike sales explode globally, it would certainly be better to remodel those old low batteries rather than adding to the growing issue of e-waste.

Similar efforts are underway to use for older electric car batteries, Greentechmedia Reports. Companies like Nissan And Mercedes-Benz Energy Has announced the conversion of old car batteries into large-scale energy storage systems to help pilots with power fluctuations on the grid.