E-mobility: TÜV SÜD turns focus to battery safety
According to TÜV SÜD, internationally binding safety standards are urgently needed to ensure safe electric mobility. This applies in particular because lithium-ion batteries, a key component of future drive systems from all manufacturers, involve high risk potential in the areas of functional, electrical, chemical and mechanical safety. These risks are not adequately addressed by current test standards, emphasized TÜV SÜD President and CEO Dr Axel Stepken at a press conference held on Wednesday morning (16 September) at the IAA in Frankfurt. Dr Stepken also announced that TÜV SÜD will carry out the first crash tests with lithium-ion car batteries as early as this autumn.
The issue of e-mobility has gained enormous momentum. Industry experts predict sales revenue of € 500 billion and a market share of up to 9 per cent among newly registered vehicles worldwide by 2020. In a representative study carried out by TÜV SÜD together with the market research institute Technomar, almost 60 per cent of respondents claim to be actively interested in electric mobility. And Germany’s government vision is that in ten years’ time, the number of electric cars on German roads will have topped the one-million barrier.
According to TÜV SÜD President and CEO Dr Axel Stepken, electric cars are here to stay. Without electric drive concepts, the ambitious carbon reduction targets and the enhanced energy efficiency of vehicles required to achieve them are hardly feasible. Under the heading “E-mobility – surely but safely”, TÜV SÜD’s mobility experts communicated two messages at the IAA press conference: firstly, that electrification is undoubtedly a significant approach to the ecological modernization of mobility, and secondly, that functional, electrical and mechanical safety must be guaranteed if e-mobility is to fulfil this role successfully.
Batteries as key components: incomplete standards
From TÜV SÜD’s perspective, the battery, as the key component, is the focus of interest. All major manufacturers base their concepts on lithium-ion batteries. In terms of battery safety, however, there is urgent need for action irrespective of whether these batteries will be used in purely electric cars, in micro-hybrids and mild hybrids, full hybrids or plug-in hybrids. According to Dr Axel Stepken, the standards and testing processes are still incomplete at present.
To give some examples, firstly, while final approval criteria for battery crash tests have been defined for the fire and explosion risks, as yet toxic, caustic and carcinogenic substances have not been considered. Secondly, no requirements for rear-end collisions have yet been defined for the approval of mass-produced cars. These requirements are necessary, however, as many manufacturers plan to install the lithium-ion battery pack at the rear end. Thirdly, there are no standards governing battery installation. Fourthly, no safety guidelines which provide guidance when electric cars must be towed have been established. Fifthly, the criteria for periodic safety testing of electric and hybrid cars are incomplete. Sixthly, even in its updated version which is to come into effect in 2010, the ECE-R 100 test standard for electric safety fails to fully reflect the exceptional significance of the lithium-ion battery.
TÜV SÜD: “Single-Fault Safety” must be the yardstick
The revised standard does not ensure “single-fault safety”, which means that an individual fault must not result in the loss of a safety function. Binding international crash-test standards taking into account the battery and power-unit system are important as a basis for establishing this yardstick. All practice-relevant aspects, including the recharging of electric vehicles in private garages at home or the disposal of old vehicles, must be taken into account from the outset. Another aspect that must not be neglected: so far, neither a coordination body nor any legal regulations on how to handle accidents involving electric vehicles exist.
Over recent decades, the innovative power of car manufacturers and the efforts of testing and inspection organizations have made mobility in Germany extremely safe.
While moving into the era of e-mobility, this safety level must now be at least maintained, because “If the basic confidence in safety is shaken – for example, by serious accidents for which electric mobility is to blame – the development of a future-oriented technology may be massively impaired”, explains the TÜV SÜD Chairman of the Board of Management.
Stepken confirms that German and large-scale international manufacturers are highly aware of this problem, adding, however, that e-mobility is the first major automotive issue in which impetus is coming not only from the established manufacturing countries. The desire for individual mobility in countries such as China or India, combined with the increasing scarcity of fossil fuels, leads us to anticipate key impetus for this new technology to come from these countries. “For safety’s sake, worldwide applicable, uniform standards must therefore be developed and applied”, emphasized Dr Stepken. Also, there will be “quite a few new market players from sectors outside the automotive industry”. TÜV SÜD expects a number of manufacturers to opt for small-series production, in particular in the development stage. For cars produced in small series of up to 1,000 units, however, approval is relatively easy to obtain.
Dr Axel Stepken confirms, “In the initial phase in particular, there is a risk that only the provisions applicable to small-series production will be applied to the approval process, resulting in cars on our roads which fail to satisfy the stricter safety requirements applicable to electric mobility.” With a view to approval and import regulations, clear-cut and binding international safety standards are needed which apply to all vehicles irrespective of their production volume, concludes Stepken.
TÜV SÜD well equipped to face the e-mobility challenge
TÜV SÜD regards itself as well-equipped for the e-mobility challenge. “As early as this autumn, we will conduct the first crash tests with on-board lithium-ion batteries “, announces Dr Stepken. In the field of battery safety, the service provider cooperates with renowned German car manufacturers and advocates appropriate standards in the relevant committees. The service company also has longstanding experience with electrified drive systems, gained, for example, in vehicle certification and homologation. In Stuttgart, the service provider participates in the “Model Region for Electric Mobility” project, and TÜV SÜD Academy is one of the leading training providers in Germany, preparing repair-shop employees for their work with high-voltage vehicles.
At TÜV SÜD’s premiere at the IAA under the motto “Discover diversity. Enhance efficiency”, Stepken noted: “We are convinced that we and our services in the mobility segment can contribute significantly to help car dealerships, repair shops, automotive suppliers and manufacturers to find their way out of the crisis.”
From e-mobility to future roadworthiness testing and from cost-effective car dealerships to eco-friendly fleet management: TÜV SÜD, its subsidiaries and TÜV Hessen, in which TÜV SÜD is the majority shareholder, can be found at the IAA, Hall 8, Stand 13A.