Amid a surge in fire incidents involving electric two-wheelers in the country, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs has asked the BIS to come up with standards for electric vehicle batteries. The BIS has published performance standards for EV batteries, a ministry official said.The BIS is also in the process of specifying two separate standards for passenger and commercial electric vehicle batteries.
Standard EV Batteries
Reportedly, the Bureau of Indian Standards BIS has published performance standards for electric vehicle (EV) batteries in the country.
The BIS is the country national standardization body that is responsible for standardizing and certifying the quality of goods. Amid a surge in fire incidents involving electric two wheelers in the country, the ministry has asked the BIS to come up with battery standards for electric vehicles.
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The BIS has published the performance standards for electronic vehicle batteries, a senior official from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs told the PTI news agency.
The IS 17855:2022 standard has been formulated for lithium-ion traction battery packs and systems of electric-powered road vehicles and has been harmonized with ISO 12405-4:2018, the official said. (EV Batteries)
The BIS is also in the process of specifying two separate standards for batteries for various passenger and commercial vehicles under L mopeds, motorcycles, tricycles, and quadricycles, M passenger vehicles having at least four wheels, and N motor vehicles. merchandise transports. that have at leat four wheels, added the official.
The standards were formulated after testing EV batteries for a number of parameters such as performance, reliability, operation at high and low temperatures, among others.
The Indian electric vehicle segment is mainly dominated by lithium ion batteries that come with a host of customizations, from cell chemistry to electric vehicle integrations. The preference is largely attributed to the higher power to weight ratio of lithium ion batteries.
This is the first time that a performance standard for electric vehicle batteries has been introduced in the country. Previously, the government had published India-based standards for AC alternating current) charging and DC direct current charging. In April, NITI Aayog released a draft battery swap policy for two-wheelers and three wheelers to boost the adoption of electric vehicles in the country. (EV Batteries)
The latest development comes a day after a video of a Tata Nexon EV on fire went viral on social media. The government has since ordered an investigation into the matter, while the automaker said it was looking into the isolated thermal incident.
This adds to the growing problem for the electric vehicle industry, as this was the first incident involving an electric four-wheeler. ( EV Batteries)
Previously, in light of fire incidents involving electric two wheelers, the government ordered an investigation that found defects in the batteries, as well as in the designs of the battery packs and modules responsible for the incidents.
In some cases, fire incidents have also claimed lives, including that of a 13 year-old girl. The incidents have also caused a furor, with many calling for stricter regulations to curb such incidents.
Electric vehicle sales in the country fell 20% month-on-month MoM to 39,477 units in May this year, according to data from Vahan, which can be partly attributed to fire incidents.