Battery cells from Lime e-bikes will be repurposed by British sustainable design company Gomi to create limited edition zero-waste portable speakers.
Some 50,000 e-bike battery cells will be given a ‘second life’ powering bluetooth speakers made from plastic bags.
The process will see cells from more than 1,000 damaged Lime e-bike batteries carefully removed, cleaned and rigorously tested for capacity, before being used to create the new range of speakers.
Andrew Savage, vice president of sustainability at Lime, said: “We’re really excited to see how Gomi has managed to give a new, second life to our old batteries.
“Their technical expertise and innovative product line offers an exciting opportunity to re-use parts that would otherwise have been recycled, and turn them into stylish everyday essentials that will last a lifetime.”
The micromobility operator said most of the materials in its e-scooters and e-bikes can be recycled after they are no longer functional as spare parts. However, second life uses are more sustainable than recycling, and batteries present the biggest opportunity for reuse, according to Lime.
The partnership is the first in the industry to extend the life of e-scooters and e-bikes and forms part of Lime’s broader ‘Ride Green’ initiative, which has a net zero by 2030 commitment following a science-based target.
Furthermore, the speakers, which have 20-hour battery life, will be created using 100% recycled plastic waste that has been saved from landfill.
Tom Meades, co-founder of Gomi, added : “We designed the Gomi Speakers to be a breath of fresh air into the world of environmentally-friendly consumer tech.
“We’re the first company to create fully-circular tech products made from post-consumer waste materials that would usually end up in landfill, giving them a second life.
“We’re on a mission to prove that tech can be environmentally-friendly, fully-circular, whilst also being high-performance and aesthetic.”
