Chris Doel, an electrical engineer from the United Kingdom, used his creativity to repurpose disposable vapes into a high-capacity battery for an e-bike.
He collected hundreds of vapes at a music festival, dismantled them, and used the lithium batteries to create a functional 48-volt battery with 3D-printed modules and a battery management system.
The project demonstrated that many discarded vapes still contain usable batteries, which are often wasted because manufacturers do not allow consumers to recharge them, leading to premature disposal.
+ Click here to watch the project video
By building his homemade battery, Doel was able to ride 33 km on his e-bike without pedaling. His work highlighted the waste caused by disposable vapes, which generate tons of electronic waste, especially considering that around 260 million of these vapes are thrown away every year in the UK. For him, it is evident that the current system is flawed, as many of the batteries could still be reused but are unnecessarily discarded.
Additionally, he pointed out that many parts of vapes, such as aluminum casings, can be recycled but are often overlooked. Doel’s project’s goal was to show that much of what we consider waste can still be repurposed, such as vape batteries, which have the potential to be transformed into something valuable, like an e-bike battery.
Source: Ride Apart | Photo: YouTube @Chris_doel | This content was created with AI assistance and reviewed by the editorial team