Chargers for EPACs: information and background on potentially misleading statements about future requirements
A variety of statements and interpretations have been circulating in recent months about the future (legal) requirements for charging systems for electrically power-assisted bicycles (EPACs). This has caused some confusion. The ZIV has explored this topic in great depth and would now like to contribute to a better understanding with its assessment of the legal situation, presented below. This in no way constitutes legal advice, but rather provides the best possible interpretation of the current legal situation – as objectively as is possible from our perspective and at this point in time.
The following statements are among the latest rumours:
«In future, a specific plug must be used to charge EPACs. All other plugs will be banned.»
«Compliance with IEC TS 62196-4 and IEC TS 61851-3-1/2/4/5/7 for electromechanics and communication will be mandatory.»
«Manufacturer-specific solutions are only justifiable in complex situations and involve legal risks.»
Our assessment:
In our view, all three of these statements are incorrect and, following a thorough review of the existing standards and technical specifications, untenable.
To summarise, the following should also be noted:
The following statements are among the latest rumours:
«In future, a specific plug must be used to charge EPACs. All other plugs will be banned.»
«Compliance with IEC TS 62196-4 and IEC TS 61851-3-1/2/4/5/7 for electromechanics and communication will be mandatory.»
«Manufacturer-specific solutions are only justifiable in complex situations and involve legal risks.»
Our assessment:
In our view, all three of these statements are incorrect and, following a thorough review of the existing standards and technical specifications, untenable.
To summarise, the following should also be noted:
- The aforementioned standards and technical specifications set out the general requirements.
- They are open to all technologies and do not prescribe a specific method of implementation.
- Examples of possible solutions can moreover be derived from these. However, these options are not exhaustive and manufacturers are not restricted to only using them.
Detailed explanation
Legal significance of standards in general
Standards are an agreed way of doing something consistently and repeatedly. They define minimum requirements for safety, reliability, efficiency and trust. Unlike laws, standards are generally not legally binding. Their application is voluntary or only becomes binding when stipulated in laws or contracts. They are recognised technical rules nonetheless and often consulted to determine whether a manufacturer has met their duty of care.
Legal significance of harmonised standards
The European Commission states the following on this matter:
«A harmonised standard is a European standard developed by a recognised European Standards Organisation: CEN, CENELEC, or ETSI. It is created following a request from the European Commission to one of these organisations. Manufacturers, other economic operators, or conformity assessment bodies can use harmonised standards to demonstrate that products, services, or processes comply with relevant EU legislation. The references of harmonised standards must be published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) […] The use of these standards remains voluntary. Manufacturers, other economic operators, or conformity assessment bodies are free to choose another technical solution to demonstrate compliance with the mandatory legal requirements.» Another very detailed analysis of the legal significance of harmonised standards concludes that «the essential requirements of harmonisation legislation are specified by harmonised standards of the private standardisation organisations, the application of which is voluntary».
Despite their «voluntary nature», we consider compliance with standards to be very important. Particularly the presumption of conformity associated with harmonised standards in Europe and the fact that standards are often referred to in contracts highlights their great importance. Hence we describe their context and practical application in greater detail below.
Interaction between different standards and impact of amendment A1 to DIN EN 15194
EPACs are subject to the Machinery Directive (2006/42/EC) within which the European standard EN 15194 for electrically power-assisted bicycles (EPACs) is listed as a harmonised standard. Due to a formal objection, the listing in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) contained restrictions relating to batteries and vibrations. With amendment A1 to EN 15194, which was published in 2023, the restriction on batteries could be lifted from May 2024 with a new listing. The presumption of conformity began on 15 May 2024 for the new EN 15194:2017+A1:2023 and ends on 15 May 2026 for EN 15194:2017 (including the restrictions). The transition period for EN 15194:2017 without A1 ends in August 2025. EN 15194:2017+A1:2023 defines safety requirements for EPAC batteries by specifying compliance with EN 50604-1:2016 and EN 50604-1:2016/A1:2021. This is described in greater detail below.
Requirements for charging EPAC batteries relating to EN 15194 and EN 50604-1
The requirements for EPAC batteries are specified in Section 4.2.3 of amendment A1 to EN 15194.
In contrast to the 2017 version of EN 15194, no specific requirements are defined in this section. It will now simply refers to EN 50604-1:2016 and EN 50604-1:2016/A1:2021. No reference is made to EN 62133 any longer either.
Contents of EN 50604-1
The requirements for various subsystems are specified in Table 1 in EN 50604-1:2016/A1:2021.
In accordance with EN 50604-1:2016/A1:2021, manufacturers can choose between the following solutions for the battery management system (BMS):
If an interoperable solution is used for the BMS, there are two options:
If the communication is based on CANopen, a compatibility check must be carried out in accordance with Section 8.2.3.4 of IEC TS 61851-3-4.
Alternatively, an interoperable solution with equally suitable communication that is not based on CANopen can be used.
There are moreover several options for the mounted removable battery system:
Binding nature of the IEC TS 61851-3-x series and IEC TS 62196-4
While the IEC TS 61851-3-x series and IEC TS 62196-4 are international documents, they are not legally binding. Nor do they have the status of international standards. Rather, they are merely technical specifications.
These are «normative in nature and developed according to the consensus procedure». Such a document therefore «approaches an international standard in terms of detail and completeness but has not yet passed through all approval stages, either because consensus has not been reached or because standardization is seen to be premature.»
Links between IEC and EN – in detail
In EN 50604-1:2016 and EN 50604-1:2016/A1:2021, reference is made to the specifications IEC TS 61851-3-x series and IEC TS 62196-4. The following aspects are important in here:
Standards are an agreed way of doing something consistently and repeatedly. They define minimum requirements for safety, reliability, efficiency and trust. Unlike laws, standards are generally not legally binding. Their application is voluntary or only becomes binding when stipulated in laws or contracts. They are recognised technical rules nonetheless and often consulted to determine whether a manufacturer has met their duty of care.
Legal significance of harmonised standards
The European Commission states the following on this matter:
«A harmonised standard is a European standard developed by a recognised European Standards Organisation: CEN, CENELEC, or ETSI. It is created following a request from the European Commission to one of these organisations. Manufacturers, other economic operators, or conformity assessment bodies can use harmonised standards to demonstrate that products, services, or processes comply with relevant EU legislation. The references of harmonised standards must be published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) […] The use of these standards remains voluntary. Manufacturers, other economic operators, or conformity assessment bodies are free to choose another technical solution to demonstrate compliance with the mandatory legal requirements.» Another very detailed analysis of the legal significance of harmonised standards concludes that «the essential requirements of harmonisation legislation are specified by harmonised standards of the private standardisation organisations, the application of which is voluntary».
Despite their «voluntary nature», we consider compliance with standards to be very important. Particularly the presumption of conformity associated with harmonised standards in Europe and the fact that standards are often referred to in contracts highlights their great importance. Hence we describe their context and practical application in greater detail below.
Interaction between different standards and impact of amendment A1 to DIN EN 15194
EPACs are subject to the Machinery Directive (2006/42/EC) within which the European standard EN 15194 for electrically power-assisted bicycles (EPACs) is listed as a harmonised standard. Due to a formal objection, the listing in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) contained restrictions relating to batteries and vibrations. With amendment A1 to EN 15194, which was published in 2023, the restriction on batteries could be lifted from May 2024 with a new listing. The presumption of conformity began on 15 May 2024 for the new EN 15194:2017+A1:2023 and ends on 15 May 2026 for EN 15194:2017 (including the restrictions). The transition period for EN 15194:2017 without A1 ends in August 2025. EN 15194:2017+A1:2023 defines safety requirements for EPAC batteries by specifying compliance with EN 50604-1:2016 and EN 50604-1:2016/A1:2021. This is described in greater detail below.
Requirements for charging EPAC batteries relating to EN 15194 and EN 50604-1
The requirements for EPAC batteries are specified in Section 4.2.3 of amendment A1 to EN 15194.
In contrast to the 2017 version of EN 15194, no specific requirements are defined in this section. It will now simply refers to EN 50604-1:2016 and EN 50604-1:2016/A1:2021. No reference is made to EN 62133 any longer either.
Contents of EN 50604-1
The requirements for various subsystems are specified in Table 1 in EN 50604-1:2016/A1:2021.
In accordance with EN 50604-1:2016/A1:2021, manufacturers can choose between the following solutions for the battery management system (BMS):
- manufacturer-specific solution
- interoperable solution with CANopen communication
- interoperable solution using another, equally suitable communication solution
If an interoperable solution is used for the BMS, there are two options:
If the communication is based on CANopen, a compatibility check must be carried out in accordance with Section 8.2.3.4 of IEC TS 61851-3-4.
Alternatively, an interoperable solution with equally suitable communication that is not based on CANopen can be used.
There are moreover several options for the mounted removable battery system:
- manufacturer-specific solution
- interoperable solution using CANopen
- interoperable solution using a different communication solution (not specified any further in EN 50604-1:2016/A1:2021)
Binding nature of the IEC TS 61851-3-x series and IEC TS 62196-4
While the IEC TS 61851-3-x series and IEC TS 62196-4 are international documents, they are not legally binding. Nor do they have the status of international standards. Rather, they are merely technical specifications.
These are «normative in nature and developed according to the consensus procedure». Such a document therefore «approaches an international standard in terms of detail and completeness but has not yet passed through all approval stages, either because consensus has not been reached or because standardization is seen to be premature.»
Links between IEC and EN – in detail
In EN 50604-1:2016 and EN 50604-1:2016/A1:2021, reference is made to the specifications IEC TS 61851-3-x series and IEC TS 62196-4. The following aspects are important in here:
- A manufacturer-specific solution is compliant and even listed as the first option in EN 50604-1:2016+A1:2021 for the BMS and the mounted removable battery system.
- The requirements for the interoperable solution defined in the IEC TS 61851-3-x series and IEC TS 62196-4 only apply if the CANopen interoperable solution is used.
- It is alternatively possible to use interoperable solutions that do not use CANopen.
- When an adapter is used (for example, a Charge2Bike EPAC connection box), the EPAC has a manufacturer-specific solution and is not affected by the requirements for interoperable solutions with CANopen. Meaning that IEC TS 61851-3-x does not apply in this case.
- Only EN 15194 is harmonised under the Machinery Directive. EN 50604-1 is not. The fundamental health and safety requirements that a standard addresses through its technical specifications are defined in the directive in which the standard is listed. For Section 4.2.3 (which was amended by A1), these are «fire», «explosion», «emission of hazardous materials and substances« and «batteries».
The reference in EN 15194:2017+A1:2023 to EN 50604-1:2016+A1:2021 therefore only relates to battery safety and not to charging communication, adapters or charging infrastructure. - It is always possible not to comply with a standard, but to still prove that a product is safe. Non-compliance with the IEC TS 61851-3-x series and IEC TS 62196-4 with an interoperable solution using CANopen therefore does not automatically result in a non-compliant product.
Sources
Directive 2006/42/EC on Machinery – summary list
https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/61614
The legal significance of standards
https://www.din.de/en/about-standards/standards-and-the-law/legal-significance-of-standards
Understanding standards
www.iec.ch/understanding-standards
Are standards laws?
https://www.snv.ch/en/information-on-standards/are-standards-laws.html
Legal opinions on the European system of harmonised standards
www.bmwk.de/redaktion
https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/single-market/european-standards
www.iec.ch/publications/specifications
https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/61614
The legal significance of standards
https://www.din.de/en/about-standards/standards-and-the-law/legal-significance-of-standards
Understanding standards
www.iec.ch/understanding-standards
Are standards laws?
https://www.snv.ch/en/information-on-standards/are-standards-laws.html
Legal opinions on the European system of harmonised standards
www.bmwk.de/redaktion
https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/single-market/european-standards
www.iec.ch/publications/specifications