"Battery Protection Also Required" New Electric Vehicle Crash Standards Released

Automotive Journalists Association 'Electric Vehicle Adoption and Safety' Symposium
Authorities and Manufacturers Collaborate on New Crash Safety Evaluation Standards
Final Edition of Electric Vehicle Safety White Paper to be Released in August
"80% Charge Limit Needed for Underground Slow Charging"

Hyundai's dedicated electric vehicle Ioniq 5 undergoing collision safety evaluation

A new crash evaluation standard considering the characteristics of electric vehicles (EVs) is being established. Since EVs contain batteries weighing several hundred kilograms, making the vehicle heavier, and there is a need to protect not only passengers but also the battery during collisions, separate standards for EVs have been continuously called for. A safety white paper reflecting the increase in EV adoption will also be released to the public within this year.

On the 2nd, Baek Chang-in, Head of Hyundai Motor's Integrated Safety Development Office, announced this at the "Expansion of Electric Vehicle Adoption and Safety" symposium hosted by the Korea Automobile Journalists Association. Baek said, "For high-voltage devices such as batteries in EVs, it is necessary to reflect the risk mechanisms during direct impacts like strong collisions," adding, "We recently held a kickoff meeting with the Korea Automobile Safety Research Institute to develop a new crash evaluation method."

Lee Huigyeong, CEO of Eviol, is presenting at the Electric Vehicle Expansion and Safety Symposium on the 2nd.

Seok Ju-sik, Deputy Director of the Korea Automobile Safety Research Institute, said, "Although the accident rate caused by collisions is actually lower for EVs, consumers tend to be sensitive due to fire-related issues," and added, "We are considering new evaluation methods in collaboration with EV manufacturers."

EVs are generally safer than conventional internal combustion engine vehicles in terms of design and structure, but consumer perception does not reflect this. The space previously occupied by the engine provides a favorable crumple zone, and the heavy battery is mainly located under the vehicle body, reducing the risk of rolling over. However, due to the high-voltage battery, there is a strong tendency to perceive greater danger in case of fire. Even though fires occur less frequently than in internal combustion vehicles, once a fire starts, it is difficult to extinguish, and incidents of fires occurring while the vehicle is not in operation have been widely reported in the news.

Both regulatory authorities setting safety standards and private manufacturers developing EVs have voiced the need to provide accurate information regarding safety. Baek said, "The final version of the EV safety white paper, created in collaboration with a group of vehicle experts in Europe, is scheduled to be released around August," adding, "It is necessary to provide appropriate information for consumers and emergency responders (in case of accidents or fires)," and "We have determined the need to reassess and incorporate improvements related to high-voltage components and battery protection concepts."

On the 2nd, a discussion between the presenter and panelists took place at a symposium hosted by the Korea Automobile Journalists Association.

EVs were rapidly adopted mainly in China and Europe in the past, and recently the pace has picked up domestically as well. Charging infrastructure is improving, and both domestic and imported car manufacturers are continuously enhancing product competitiveness. Regarding safety standards, our authorities are taking a proactive approach. While Europe has nine safety tests related to batteries and the UN has ten, South Korea conducts twelve. Battery submersion and drop tests are performed only in South Korea.

Going a step further, discussions on a pre-approval system are underway within the government and political circles. Currently, in South Korea, each manufacturer complies with safety standards independently and sells vehicles and parts, addressing issues post-sale through recalls or free repairs. However, for batteries, the government plans to set safety standards in advance and require prior approval. To promote the battery industry, the government has also announced plans to introduce a traceability management system.

Deputy Director Seok said, "We plan to include batteries in the vehicle history management items and monitor repair and replacement histories to promote safety management," adding, "We will establish performance standards based on EV mileage to manage battery durability and performance."

Baek Chang-in, Head of Hyundai Motor Integrated Safety Development Office, is presenting at the symposium on the 2nd.

Since it is physically impossible to manage batteries at the individual cell level, there was also a suggestion to expand the practice of limiting the state of charge to around 80-90%. Lee Kwang-beom, Advisor at the law firm Sejong, pointed out, "One reason why fires in energy storage systems (ESS) decreased after frequent incidents was the introduction of regulatory standards on the state of charge," adding, "While fast charging automatically stops at 80-85%, slow charging still allows up to 100%. It is necessary to introduce restriction standards for charging facilities in apartment complexes and building basements as well."

Kim Dong-young, Senior Researcher at the Korea Development Institute, said, "EVs inevitably face many unexpected variables during use, but there is no system in place, and accident types are divided among various ministries, so the feedback loop does not function properly," adding, "We need to establish specific safety standards and guidelines reflecting various issues and challenges, and also consider providing subsidies to suppliers rather than EV consumers to guide the market in the right direction."

Lee Hu-kyung, CEO of Eviol, said, "It is necessary to accurately identify types of EV accidents and prevent them in advance through education and publicity, while minimizing damage for cases where immediate measures are difficult," adding, "The government should prepare guidelines and legislate, and manufacturers should cooperate with external organizations and actively promote emergency response guidelines domestically."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.