I made something like this! Except I have it plugged into an outlet in the kitchen, so no battery to deal with. It's a little hacky but it works for me.
I hope TRMNL will start supporting 6 color e-paper displays more widely. I have one of these 6 color panels running with my own custom firmware on their BYOD license and I'm really happy with it, just wish it could take advantage of the color capabilities.
Putting these people into chains was, as the linked article puts it: "Imperial Tyranny", and a completely unnecessary humiliation of the workers. Regardless of their visa status.
https://github.com/jonmon6691/arduino_busstop