The safety storm of power banks has spread to the sharing platforms.

Universities have banned the use of power banks, and mass recalls have been carried out... The power bank industry has received unprecedented attention recently. On June 26, the Civil Aviation Administration of China issued an emergency notice, prohibiting passengers from carrying power banks without the 3C certification mark, or those of the recalled models or batches, on domestic flights. This chain reaction triggered by the safety issues of personal power banks is now directing market attention towards the large - scale shared power bank industry.

Recently, a reporter from Cailian Press conducted on - the - spot visits and found that some power banks on leading shared platforms such as Jiedian and Monster also lack the 3C certification. In response, relevant company personnel stated that since the requirement for mandatory 3C certification came into effect in August 2024, there are indeed some old - model power banks in the market without the 3C certification. However, Mo Ke, the chief analyst at Zhenli Research, told the Cailian Press reporter that since Amprius (Wuxi) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Amprius"), the involved battery cell supplier, is good at manufacturing high - energy - density battery cells, and shared power bank manufacturers usually do not choose such battery cells due to safety and other considerations. Therefore, shared power bank enterprises may be less affected by the problematic battery cells of Amprius.

The "Ripples" of the Storm

The "protagonists" of this recall storm are two enterprises, Romoss and Anker Innovations (300866.SZ). According to the announcement of the Shenzhen Market Supervision and Administration Bureau, Romoss is recalling nearly 500,000 products. Subsequently, Anker Innovations also announced a global recall of over 1.8 million products.

As the 3C certification mark has become a "life - saving talisman" for boarding airplanes, whether shared power banks have the 3C certification mark has also become a hot topic in the market. According to a study by iResearch, the scale of China's shared power bank industry exceeded 12.6 billion yuan in 2023, covering over 4 million locations across the country. Does this huge "shared mobile energy" network also have the same safety hazards?

Recently, a Cailian Press reporter visited the Shekou area in Shenzhen and found that some shared power banks operated by brands such as Jiedian and Xiaodian in the market indeed have no 3C certification mark on the device body.

(One Jiedian power bank has the 3C certification mark while another doesn't. Power banks of Xiaodian and Meituan have the 3C certification mark, while those of Yuekuai and Monster don't. Photo taken by a Cailian Press reporter)

Subsequently, the Cailian Press reporter called the official Jiedian power bank hotline as a potential franchisee. The investment promotion manager told the reporter that some old - model power banks in the market currently do not have the 3C certification, and the company is recalling and replacing them gradually. When the reporter called the Xiaodian customer service as a consumer, the other party also said that there are indeed some old - model products without the 3C certification.

Why do products of the old and new standards coexist in the market?

Many industry insiders told the Cailian Press reporter that the key lies in the implementation time of the 3C certification. "August 1st last year was the time when the 3C standard became mandatory. Most power banks produced before that did not have the 3C certification," a person from a power bank enterprise told the reporter.

He further explained that this does not mean that the products produced at that time had safety problems; they just were not certified according to the non - mandatory 3C standard at that time. "Not only our brand, but all power banks of brands like Huawei, Xiaomi, and Romoss did not have the 3C certification before August 1st last year. Although they didn't have the 3C certification, the products must have met other national qualification standards."

Nevertheless, the large number of old - model devices without the 3C certification mark and the increasing safety requirements of consumers due to the "in - flight scares" have created the most direct contradiction in the industry at present.

Why Isn't the Shared Power Bank Industry the "Hard - Hit Area"?

It is worth noting that the "hard - hit area" of this safety storm is concentrated in the personal power bank field, and there doesn't seem to be a large - scale similar situation in the shared power bank industry. Behind this is the divergence in the supply chain selection and business models of the two business forms.

Mo Ke, the chief analyst at Zhenli Research, said in an interview with the Cailian Press reporter that due to their unique business models, shared power bank enterprises must be more "conservative" in choosing battery cells.

"The involved enterprise Amprius is good at making high - energy - density battery cells. These battery cells have a larger capacity but lower safety. If a safety accident occurs with a shared power bank, the impact will be extremely large. So enterprises will definitely prefer more conservative and lower - energy - density battery cells, and therefore, few shared power bank enterprises will choose Amprius."

When asked whether a high number of charge - discharge cycles would affect the safety of shared power banks, Mo Ke said "the correlation is not significant."

In contrast, the business model of shared power banks inherently determines its high requirements for product safety and stability.

On July 1st, the reporter consulted several shared power bank companies as a potential franchisee. Their investment promotion managers all emphasized the brand's main responsibility for safety issues.

An investment promotion manager from Monster Charging told the Cailian Press reporter that franchisees only need to purchase and install the devices, and the brand is responsible for after - sales service and customer complaints.

"If someone borrows my power bank and it burns or explodes, will they come after me?" Facing the reporter's question, the manager clearly replied, "No, they will directly contact Monster. We are backed by a large company. Since you choose Monster, you don't have to worry about these problems."

An investment promotion manager from Xiaodian directly said, "We have insurance. I'll send you the insurance policy later."

This "firewall" built for merchants and franchisees through "backing by large companies" and insurance mechanisms makes the shared power bank brand the ultimate bearer of safety responsibility, which forces it to prioritize safety over cost and performance in product definition and supply chain selection.

The Industry Shuffle Is Accelerating

An unexpected safety storm has changed the power bank market and is becoming a catalyst for the accelerated reshuffle of the shared power bank industry.

"Apart from Romoss being removed from all sales channels, the sales of other leading brands have slightly increased," the aforementioned person from a power bank enterprise revealed to the reporter. The market share vacated by Romoss and the replacement demand of consumers due to the "3C ban" are quickly flowing to compliant leading brands.

Behind the market's spontaneous selection is the reshaping of the supply chain. The Cailian Press reporter learned from Anker Innovations that the company has terminated all cooperation with the involved battery cell supplier and quickly signed a cooperation agreement with Amperex Technology Limited (ATL), a subsidiary of CATL (300750.SZ).

This trend is also spreading to the shared power bank market.

According to iResearch, the top five brands in the shared power bank industry accounted for as high as 96.6% in 2023, showing a significant Matthew effect. Leading enterprises with stronger supply chain bargaining power, more complete quality control systems, and more abundant capital may be better able to weather this "big test."

For the large number of franchisees, choosing a reliable and compliant brand has become the most important "new plan" at present.

The aforementioned Jiedian investment promotion person told the reporter that some office parks and office buildings have now started to set qualification requirements for the entry of shared power bank cabinets in their areas: "They now have requirements for the power bank brands entering their areas and must provide quality certifications such as the 3C certification."

In response, the investment promotion managers of Monster Charging and Xiaodian both told the reporter that they can provide all certification qualifications.

Many interviewees believe that this storm will accelerate the survival - of - the - fittest process in the industry. For franchisees, the compliance ability and technological strength of a brand have become more important considerations when choosing a cooperation partner. For the entire industry, resources may further concentrate on leading enterprises with full - process quality control capabilities.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Cailian Press", author: Wang Biwei. Republished by 36Kr with permission.