London startup Tyred has partnered with Dutch charging infrastructure company PowerShelter to bring its SmartShelter e-bike battery charging lockers to the UK.
Under the agreement, Tyred will become PowerShelter’s exclusive UK partner, responsible for nationwide distribution, installation and servicing. The companies are targeting property owners, facilities managers and fleet operators seeking dedicated e-bike battery charging infrastructure.
PowerShelter says its lockers are already in use in European office buildings, including CBRE-managed sites such as Google’s headquarters in Amsterdam.
Charging restrictions
The partners say the agreement responds to increasing restrictions on e-bike charging in buildings and a shortage of dedicated charging facilities. Their proposed alternative is managed infrastructure for residents, employees and fleet operators, rather than charging batteries at desks, in flats or in communal areas.
The announcement cites concerns about lithium-ion battery fires as a driver of charging restrictions. It reports that London Fire Brigade attended a record 206 e-bike and e-scooter fires in 2025, including 171 involving e-bikes.
The release also cites London Fire Brigade warnings about battery failure, conversion kits and chargers, particularly poorly built, counterfeit or damaged batteries and incompatible charging equipment. The partners argue that building managers have limited visibility of these risks when charging takes place unsupervised.
The release names The Gherkin, Canary Wharf and all Savills’ residential properties as examples of buildings and portfolios where e-bike charging is banned. It does not provide the underlying policies or define their scope.
PowerShelter and Tyred argue that charging restrictions need to be accompanied by secure alternatives. They claim very few UK properties have purpose-built e-bike battery charging facilities and none offer the additional protection described in the announcement. The companies also describe their lockers as a UK first for secure charging compartments incorporating cooling systems and integrated fire-suppression technology.
The announcement points to Government fire-safety guidance which it says recommends considering separate, safe and secure battery storage and charging facilities, including purpose-designed lockers away from primary buildings and escape routes.
The partners aim to make dedicated battery charging infrastructure easier to deploy across the UK. The announcement does not specify pricing, a first UK installation date or the number of lockers planned for deployment.
Locker features and servicing
According to PowerShelter, each SmartShelter locker provides individual secure charging compartments equipped with temperature and gas sensors, automatic power shut-off, extraction systems and integrated fire-suppression technology. The company says each compartment is designed to contain thermal runaway and limit escalation to the wider building.
The companies say the modular lockers can be installed at workplaces, apartment buildings, mobility hubs and fleet facilities, providing a managed charging location on site or along fleet routes.
“The UK is restricting e-bikes faster than it’s building places to charge them. Restrictions alone won’t make e-bikes safer, they’ll just make them rarer. The answer is safe, managed charging infrastructure, and PowerShelter has already proven it in buildings across Europe,” said Jake De Wulf, Co-Founder and CCO of PowerShelter.
“Tyred brings that infrastructure nationwide. Sitting at the centre of the country’s cycling and e-mobility market, they recognised early that this was needed. The team understands the operational side, has the servicing capability and already works with riders and fleets every day, which makes Tyred the ideal partner to deploy this infrastructure at scale.”
Founded in 2023 as a mobile bike repair operation, London-based Tyred now combines maintenance, repairs, insurance, warranty and finance through a connected cycling platform. The company says it serviced more than 150,000 bikes over the past year and raised £2.5 million in July to support expansion across the UK and Europe.
“The question we increasingly hear from customers is very simple: where do the batteries go?” said Nikita Baranov, Co-Founder and COO of Tyred.
“You can encourage people to commute by e-bike, provide great cycle parking and invest in cycling infrastructure, but if somebody arrives at their office and is told they can’t bring in or charge their battery, there is still a fundamental piece missing.
“That is what this partnership addresses. We can now provide the charging infrastructure alongside maintenance, battery handling, insurance and warranty, giving property owners and fleet operators one partner for the whole lifecycle.”
