The safety issues of new energy vehicles have gradually become the focus of industry discussion.
At the recently held 2024 World Power Battery Conference, Zeng Yuqun, chairman of Ningde Times, shouted that "the power battery industry must enter a stage of high-standard development." He believes that the first thing to bear the brunt is high safety, which is the lifeline of the industry's sustainable development. At present, The safety factor of some power batteries is far from enough.
"The fire incidence rate of new energy vehicles in 2023 is 0.96 per 10,000. The number of domestic new energy vehicles has exceeded 25 million, with billions of battery cells loaded. If safety issues are not resolved, the consequences will be catastrophic. In Zeng Yuqun’s view, “Battery safety is a systematic project, and standards need to be improved in terms of material thermal stability.” He called for the establishment of an absolute safety standard red line, “Put aside competition first and put consumer safety first. Standards first.”
In line with Zeng Yuqun's concerns, the "New Energy Vehicle Operation Safety Performance Inspection Regulations" which was recently released and will be officially implemented on March 1, 2025, clearly stipulates that the testing standards for new energy vehicles must be strengthened. According to the regulations, the safety performance inspection of new energy vehicles includes power battery safety (charging) testing and electrical safety testing as required inspection items. Safety features such as drive motors, electronic control systems, and electricity safety are also tested. This procedure applies to the operational safety performance inspection of all pure electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid (including extended-range) vehicles in use.
This is my country's first safety testing standard specifically for new energy vehicles. Prior to this, new energy vehicles, like fuel vehicles, were subject to inspections every two years starting from the 6th year and once a year starting from the 10th year. This is the same as that of new energy vehicles. Oil trucks often have different service cycles, and new energy vehicles have many safety issues. Previously, a blogger mentioned during the annual inspection of electric vehicles that the random inspection pass rate for new energy models over 6 years old was only 10%.
Although this is not officially released data, it also shows to a certain extent that there are serious safety issues in the field of new energy vehicles.
Prior to this, in order to prove the safety of their new energy vehicles, major car companies have worked hard on battery packs and three-power management. For example, BYD said that its ternary lithium batteries have undergone strict safety testing and certification and can withstand acupuncture, fire, Ensure safety under various extreme conditions such as short circuit. In addition, BYD's battery management system can also ensure the safe operation of batteries in various usage scenarios, thereby ensuring BYD battery safety.
ZEEKR Motors recently released the second-generation BRIC battery, and stated that it adopted 8 major thermal safety protection technologies in terms of safety standards, and passed the cell overvoltage acupuncture test, the 240-second fire test, and the entire package of six Serial testing under extreme working conditions. In addition, through AI BMS battery management technology, it can also improve the accuracy of battery power estimation, identify risky vehicles in advance, and extend battery life.
From a single battery cell being able to pass the acupuncture test, to the entire battery pack being able to pass the crushing and water immersion test, and now brands such as BYD and ZEEKR extending safety to the three-electric system, the industry is in a safe state, allowing new energy vehicles to The overall level has taken a big step forward.
But from the perspective of vehicle safety, this is not enough. It is necessary to combine the three electric systems with the entire vehicle and establish the concept of overall safety, whether it is a single battery cell, a battery pack, or even the entire new energy vehicle. It is safe so that consumers can use it with confidence.
Recently, the Venucia brand under Dongfeng Nissan has proposed the concept of true safety through the integration of vehicle and electricity, emphasizing the safety of new energy vehicles from the perspective of the entire vehicle. In order to verify the safety of its electric vehicles, Venucia not only demonstrated its core "three-terminal" integration + "five-dimensional" overall design of protection, of which the "three-terminal" integrates the cloud, car terminal, and battery terminal, and the "five-dimensional" Protection includes the cloud, the vehicle, battery pack, BMS, and battery cells, and also allows the Venucia VX6 vehicle to pass challenges such as wading, fire, and bottom scraping.
The short video of the Venucia VX6 passing through the fire has also attracted the attention of many car enthusiasts. Many people have questioned that it is contrary to common sense to let the entire vehicle pass the fire test. After all, it is difficult to ignite the battery pack from the outside if there is no internal damage. Yes, it is impossible to prove its strength by using external fire to prove that its model has no risk of spontaneous combustion.
Judging from the external fire test alone, Venucia's approach is indeed biased, but if it is viewed in Venucia's entire test system, it can explain some problems to a certain extent. After all, Venucia's Luban battery has passed hard-core tests such as battery acupuncture, external fire, falling and slamming, and seawater immersion. It can prevent fires and explosions, and can pass through wading, fire, and bottom scraping in the form of a complete vehicle. The test is quite challenging with additional questions.
From the perspective of vehicle safety, new energy vehicles need to ensure that key components such as batteries and battery packs do not catch fire or explode. They also need to ensure the safety of consumers during use of the vehicle. In addition to the need to inspect the entire vehicle In addition to water, fire, and bottom scraping tests, vehicle safety also needs to be ensured against the backdrop of changes in the vehicle environment. After all, each consumer’s vehicle usage habits are different, and the usage scenarios are also very different. In order to ensure that the battery pack does not spontaneously ignite In this case, it is also necessary to exclude other spontaneous combustion factors of the entire vehicle.
This is not to say that if a new energy vehicle spontaneously ignites, but the battery pack does not, then there will be no problem with the electric vehicle. Rather, it is necessary to ensure that the "vehicle and electricity in one" are both safe, so that the electric vehicle can be truly safe.
Post time: Sep-03-2024