EV Battery Safety Standards are Increasing

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There have also been quite a few developments in battery technology. The Indian market had been moving towards nickel, manganese and cobalt batteries – mainly because their higher energy density packed more energy into the same form factor. But the disadvantage of these batteries is that they do not perform well from a safety perspective. So after a number of vehicle fires in recent years, there has been a resurgence of lithium ferro phosphate batteries of late: These batteries have a lower energy density, but they are much safer. We at Cygni Energy believe this technology trend is going to continue, eventually leading to greater usage of solid-state batteries, which are considered to be even safer than nickel, manganese, cobalt and lithium ferro phosphate batteries, as they do not have flammable electrolytes. Similarly, in the next five to seven years, India will likely move toward silicon, metal or lithium anode batteries, which combine a higher energy density with the safety advantages of solid-state electronics.

The Indian government is encouraging this evolution, including through its recently finalized Advanced Chemistry Cell Production Linked Incentive scheme, which aims to incentivize the production of 50-gigawatt hours of lithium cells. This scheme is technology-agnostic in some ways: The incentive depends only on the energy density and cycle life of the cell, regardless of the chemicals or electronics employed – so the higher the energy density and cycle life of the batteries manufacturers produce, the better the incentive they receive. These batteries will help the EV sector to produce vehicles specifically designed for Indian conditions: The temperature range varies quite widely in the country, and as mentioned above, India rides mostly on two-wheelers and three-wheelers, which have less space. So advanced cooling mechanisms are difficult to implement when compared to an electric car, which can make two- and three-wheeled EVs more prone to overheating and fires. India is also a very cost-sensitive market, so while EVs have to be absolutely safe, they also must be affordable. These government incentives will help move the country toward the types of batteries that can boost EV uptake among more consumers.



As discussed above, safety has become a paramount concern for Indian riders in the wake of various fire incidents in electric vehicles. In response, the country’s Ministry of Road Transport and Highways constituted a committee in May 2022 to formulate safety requirements for traction batteries (which are designed to provide power over sustained periods of time). The committee included experts from several renowned institutes of science and technology, and it recommended a number of amendments brazil whatsapp number data to India’s EV battery standards, which came into effect on October 1, 2022.

The most important of these changes is that manufacturers will have to make sure that all EV battery packs are protected against water ingress. Water can degrade batteries’ cell performance and seriously damage their materials, and can also corrode or damage their internal safety devices and cause their battery management systems to malfunction or fail. This can cause the battery to overheat, ignite, rupture or leak.

All battery packs will also have to include a pressure relief valve or a pressure vent, so that any gaseous leak and subsequent pressure build-up inside the battery can be released, thus protecting the pack. Several other changes aim to prevent overheating and fires, including a requirement for manufacturers to ensure that even if any of the cells in a pack overheat, it does not propagate to the rest of the cells and the battery pack remains safe. There is also a requirement for at least four temperature sensors to be included inside each battery pack, and for an audio-visual warning in case of a thermal event. Additional changes affect EV battery chargers and how they communicate with batteries during the charging process, further protecting against overheating and fires. All of these amendments will make both EVs and batteries safer, resulting in increased adoption of electric vehicles.