Client
Nottingham City Council
Nottingham, United Kingdom
Hardware
2x PowerShelters
High-Capacity, Fire-Resistant
Users
Local Residents
Community Bike Library Participants
Access control
Key Access
Impact
Safe Battery Management
Scalable Community Access
Read more about Nottingham Council's Travel Well Community Bike Library Program Here:
https://www.transportnottingham.com/new-community-bike-library-launches-to-encourage-300-people-into-active-travel-in-nottingham/
The challenge: Safe Charging for a Self-Service Community Fleet
As Nottingham expanded its community bike library, a practical issue emerged: how to safely charge dozens of high-capacity lithium-ion batteries while allowing residents to borrow bikes independently.
Unmanaged charging inside community facilities introduced fire risk. Manual handover processes limited operating hours and required staff supervision. The programme needed a solution that balanced safety, autonomy, and scalability.
The solution: PowerShelters in the Library
PowerShelters replaced the desk charging setup (seen in the images below) with dedicated compartments for each battery.
When a resident rents a bike, they receive not only keys to the bike, but a key to it's corresponding battery compartment.
They collect the battery, install it on the bike, and go. No staff member needs to supervise the charging room.
The shelters were installed with minimal disruption and designed to be accessible to the local teams managing the programs.
The impact: Safe, Secure and Community
With charging safely managed and batteries organised, the Council could focus fully on what the programme was designed to do: remove barriers to cycling.
The Travel Well Community Bike Library enables residents to access e-bikes, adapted bikes, and cargo models free of charge, opening active travel to people who may not otherwise afford or feel confident using them. By making the operation safe and reliable behind the scenes, the Council strengthened its ability to support up to 300 residents into healthier, low-emission journeys across Nottingham.
