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Battery Safety Initiative


NHTSA is establishing its Battery Safety Initiative for Electric Vehicles to coordinate research and other activities to address safety risks relating to batteries in electric vehicles.

Data Collection Activities

  • Collect and analyze data related to electric vehicle battery safety  
  • Examine field incidents: conduct special investigations of electric vehicle crash and non-crash events related to battery safety

Research

  • Battery Diagnostics and Prognostics
    Evaluate the health of a battery: early detection (prognostics), diagnostics, and intervention
  • Battery Management System (BMS) Cybersecurity
    Explore risks and vehicle-side measures related to wired and wireless charging communications and other vehicle connectivity paths (e.g., telematics) that could access BMS
  • High-Voltage Battery Charging Failure Modes and Effects Analysis
    • Extremely fast charging (350 KW – 1 MW) safety
    • Wireless charging safety
    • Advances in battery management systems
    • Test procedures development

Enforcement

Continue to conduct investigations into potential safety-related defects related to electric vehicle batteries. NHTSA’s Office of Defect Investigations has conducted several investigations and overseen multiple recalls associated with vehicle and house fires caused by issues relating to electric vehicle batteries. 

Safety Standards

Develop a proposal for Phase 1 of Global Technical Regulation (GTR) No. 20 for Electric Vehicle Safety into the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.

Continue to advance battery safety through NHTSA’s participation in the development of Phase 2 of Global Technical Regulation No. 20 for Electric Vehicle Safety.

  • NHTSA continues to advance electric vehicle and battery safety by chairing the development of the second phase of work currently underway at the UN. The activity is considering, among other things, safety issues related to battery thermal runaway, water immersion, and vibration resistance.