EV battery certification scheme to be implied by South Korea after fire cases

Certification of EV batteries: The ruling party and South Korea's government have mutually agreed to move up the certification program for the batteries that are used in electric vehicles by different auto manufacturers. The authorities and the government seek to support public safety concerns after a series of fires that involved electric vehicles as well.

The battery certification scheme will be started in October by the government. The implication is being done earlier than scheduled time, to help guarantee the safety of EV batteries, Han Zeea, a spokesperson for the People Power Party said. The government and the ruling party have also agreed to require auto manufacturers operating in the country to identify batteries used in their electric vehicles for the certification program.

The agreement on more stringent safety rules for the safety of electric vehicles follows the government's movement to urge auto manufacturers to willingly disclose the information about the batteries used in their vehicles after an EV fire on August 1 that damaged hundreds of vehicles and resulted in public fright.

The fire, in a Mercedes-Benz EV with Farasis Energy batteries, took eight hours to extinguish. This fire even destroyed or damaged about 140 other cars parked near the Mercedes-Benz EV and even resulted in the relocation of some residents in the apartments above to shelters.

In recent days, some car manufacturers in the electric mobility segment have voluntarily started naming the manufacturers of batteries they use to produce their electric vehicles.

The battery makers from South Korea had no reason to oppose the battery certification scheme and defined where their power sources were used. However, the public should not assume batteries are always to blame for fires in electric vehicles.

According to industry experts, getting auto manufacturers to identify batteries would give consumers more additional choices, but some questioned how it would improve safety given the lack of definitive data on which battery brands are more prone to fires.

The party spokesperson highlighted that as part of these safety measures, the government will be revising fire equipment rules about the installation of wet pipe sprinkler systems in underground parking spaces with EV charging stations and expand chargers that prevent overcharging.

Some data revealed that electric vehicles do not appear to catch fire nearly as much as recent headlines might suggest. EVs are less of a fire risk than conventional cars. However, auto experts have a different viewpoint. The fires from the EVs often last longer and are more challenging to extinguish as they tend to reignite.

(with Reuters inputs)