New safety tests for vehicles under PLI, FAME from April 2023
1 min read . Updated: 03 Nov 2022, 11:56 AM IST
PremiumThe ministry said that the new tests would ensure quality at three levels, battery pack, battery management system and cell level.
New Delhi: The heavy industries ministries has come up with enhanced testing criteria for vehicles produced under the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for automobiles along with those sold under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles or Fame scheme.
The new tests will also be applicable on batteries produced under the PLI for advanced chemistry cells (ACC).
In a notification issued on Wednesday, the ministry said that the new tests would ensure quality at three levels, battery pack, battery management system and cell level.
“To safeguard human safety, certain tests which are done internationally will be made mandatory from 1st April 2023 for claiming incentives/payments under the PLI schemes for automobile and auto components, ACC and FAMEII scheme being implemented by MHI," it said.
“These tests are widely carried out and accepted internationally for safeguarding human safety and thus would be made mandatory for the above referred schemes of MHI w.e.f. 1st April 2023 as a precondition for claiming incentives."
As per the notification, there would be six new tests for cells, including altitude simulation and temperature cycling. Under temperature cycling test, the reaction of the lithium ion cell is observed after the chamber temperature is raised and is kept at the high temperature. Altitude simulation, on the other hand is a test to observe that the batteries do not explode or catch fire when stored at a specified absolute pressure and a temperature.
There are five new tests in total at the battery pack level and 11 new tests for the battery management system.
These new tests also including dropping or a free fall of battery packs to observe that the lithium ion batteries do not explode or catch fire under a range of possible abuses as per international standard -IEC-62133-2‘.
In September, the union ministry of road transport and highway issued the additional safety requirements for battery safety, with effect from 1 October, 2022.
On 22 August, Mint had reported that the union government is expected to issue new standards for electric vehicle (EV) batteries.
Following the EV fire incidents, the road ministry formed two committees--one to look at the testing criteria and standards and the other to probe the reasons for fires. The investigation found that many batteries had cells connected in an unsafe manner and that several of them did not have a venting mechanism to disperse heat in case of overheating.
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