POPWHEELS AND UBER PARTNER TO OPEN AMERICA’S FIRST BATTERY SWAPPING HUB
May 13, 2025
Contact: Sara Marcus, sara@stuloeser.com
POPWHEELS AND UBER PARTNER TO OPEN AMERICA’S FIRST BATTERY SWAPPING HUB
First FDNY-official battery-swapping network launches in Hudson Square NYC
Hudson Square, New York – PopWheels, the Brooklyn-born battery swap company helping to solve New York City’s battery fire crisis, today announced a new partnership with Uber to open the first public battery swapping hub in America. This collaboration brings PopWheels’s proprietary, fire-safe battery technology to more delivery workers, offering a safer, cheaper, and more accessible way to power e-bikes across the city. The swapping network provides a better alternative to charging so dangerous, uncertified batteries are kept out of apartments. The new hub is located in Hudson Square.
Founded in New York City, PopWheels is the first company to offer FDNY-official, fire-suppressing battery swap cabinets, designed to prevent lithium-ion battery fires. The company’s new Hudson Square site is the first FDNY-official public swapping hub where delivery workers can exchange depleted batteries quickly and get back on the road.
“Delivery workers are essential to our city, and we are committed to building public infrastructure to make their trips as safe as possible,” said Baruch Herzfeld, Co-founder of PopWheels. “E-bikes are the future of urban mobility, and with our accessible, cheap network of certified batteries and public charging stations, delivery workers no longer have to keep batteries at home. Our work is not just about affordability and reliability for delivery workers, but ensuring public safety for all New Yorkers. Now, with the first battery swapping hub in America, we look forward to bringing this technology across New York City and the nation.”
The first official battery swap. (Ezra Fax/PopWheels)
This partnership comes at a pivotal moment, as structure fires linked to lithium-ion batteries in New York City have surged by 53 percent in the first three months of 2025. Most incidents start in homes where workers charge batteries overnight. PopWheels addresses this risk through its battery-as-a-service model: riders can check out and swap UL-certified batteries from stations throughout the City instead of owning them, reducing personal costs by up to $500 per year and keeping hazardous uncertified batteries out of use. The cabinets are deployed outdoors and have proprietary built-in systems to extinguish fires in the unlikely case of a battery-related fire.
The PopWheels team and delivery workers at the opening of the PopWheels public battery swapping hub. (Ezra Fax/PopWheels)
Uber is working with PopWheels to sponsor battery trade-ins and has been providing resources ahead of the Hudson Square launch. Through Uber’s partnership, the first fifty delivery workers who trade in old batteries will be able to access six free months of PopWheels services.
“Delivery workers should not have to make a choice between their safety and their livelihood. PopWheels’s innovative battery-swapping model will help supply reliable and safer charging and storage of lithium batteries for e-bike delivery workers,” said Freddi Goldstein, Senior Communications Manager, Uber Technologies, Inc. “We thank PopWheels for their partnership as we continue to focus on safer infrastructure for delivery workers and their neighbors.”
Congressman Dan Goldman speaking at the opening of the PopWheels public battery swapping hub. (Ezra Fax/PopWheels)
“The fires and injuries caused by often times cheaply made lithium-ion batteries from China have resulted in tremendous loss of life and property across New York. The first battery-swapping hub will protect consumers—many of whom are delivery workers—and New York City’s brave firefighters, who are on the front lines of this new challenge in fire prevention,” said U.S. Senator Charles Schumer. “‘PopWheels’ fire-safe battery technology and first-ever battery-swapping network are the kind of measures we need to safely charge and exchange poorly manufactured lithium-ion batteries for improved versions and keep New Yorkers, delivery workers and the entire public safe.”
“Lithium-ion battery fires have devastated communities across the country. We need an all-hands-on-deck approach to solve this issue,” said U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. “As we work to pass national standards for these batteries, I’m proud to see New York leading the way by putting workers, safety, and smart infrastructure first. I applaud PopWheels for its work to make New York safer, and I’ll continue pushing for policies and investments that bring solutions like this to every corner of the country.”
“We've seen too many fires caused by unsafe e-bike battery charging in apartments, so I’m thrilled that Manhattan is getting this safer battery-swapping hub. Charging stations like this are an effective way to get batteries out of apartments and expand access to safe, FDNY-approved charging options,” said Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine. “I’m grateful for PopWheels's innovations and to the City partners who made this possible.”
Council Member Gale A. Brewer said, “Battery fires are a danger to all New Yorkers. With this official battery-swapping hub, we now have a powerful tool to stop that threat at the source. PopWheels’s work is an example of public health, public safety, and worker protection all coming together. We need more hubs like this in every borough.”
“We’re thrilled that PopWheels has chosen Hudson Square for its first battery-swapping hub in the country,” said Hudson Square BID President and CEO Samara Karasyk. “Hudson Square is a hub of creativity and forward-thinking energy, making it the perfect place to test bold new ideas. This partnership supports our ongoing work to expand smart infrastructure and provide more sustainable, flexible transportation options for everyone who lives, works, and visits the neighborhood.”
"We are proud to support the first official public battery-swapping hub in New York City, helping to make electric micromobility safer for all New Yorkers," said Britt Reichborn-Kjennerud, Director of E-Mobility, Con Edison. "By connecting PopWheels's battery-swapping hub to our grid, we are meeting the clean energy needs of our customers, who are increasingly turning to e-micromobility devices for affordable modes of clean transportation. We look forward to bringing more FDNY official hubs online to ensure e-bike and e-scooter riders have access to safe, reliable charging.”
Sydnee Grushack, Director of Impact Delivery at Newlab, said, “PopWheels is bringing a valuable public benefit to a high-urgency challenge in battery safety in mobility systems throughout dense urban environments. They’ve been laser-focused on deploying their battery-swapping hub and proving the role of critical technology within public safety infrastructure. Newlab is proud to be a big supporter of the team as they commercialize PopWheels.”
David Hammer, co-founder of PopWheels, speaking at the opening of the PopWheels public battery swapping hub. (Ezra Fax/PopWheels)
PopWheels was one of the first companies to introduce public e-bike battery charging in New York City, thanks to a 2024 pilot program run by the Department of Transportation. Nearly 90 percent of PopWheels users stopped charging batteries at home entirely, contributing to a 35 percent overall drop in residential charging and proving a strong interest in subscriptions for public charging cabinets. Now, with new DOT rules allowing battery cabinets on public sidewalks, PopWheels is accelerating its expansion through partnerships with local businesses, residential buildings, delivery workers, and Uber to scale its citywide network. Public cabinets will keep batteries locked outdoors overnight, reducing structure fire risks to tenants and building owners.
To learn more about PopWheels and its public battery-swapping stations, or to request a battery-swapping station in your neighborhood, visit popwheels.club.
Further photos are available upon request.
About PopWheels
PopWheels is an NYC-based startup dedicated to the safe growth and management of electric micromobility. Inspired by the economic, transport, and sustainability benefits brought on by the rise of electric micromobility in urban centers across the globe, PopWheels’s mission is to create a better way for riders to safely and affordably store and manage e-bike and e-scooter batteries by reducing hassle, cost, and fire risk. PopWheels aims to create a seamless and safe experience for riders across the city while shifting micromobility charging away from residential apartment buildings and into fire-safe charging stations.
About Uber
Uber's mission is to create opportunity through movement. It started in 2010 to solve a simple problem: how do you get access to a ride at the touch of a button? More than 55 billion trips later, it’s building products to get people closer to where they want to be. By changing how people, food, and things move through cities, Uber is a platform that opens up the world to new possibilities.