The global demand for innovation in electric vehicles (EV) continues to grow, and with it, the need for qualified testing of lithium-ion batteries that power these vehicles. The large electric motors in electric vehicles are powered through rechargeable battery systems, and lithium-ion batteries have become the dominant choice. Ensuring the safety of lithium-ion batteries requires thorough and accurate testing.
Types of Tests
Electrical, Mechanical, and Environmental Testing
These tests are conducted to mirror temperature, humidity, vibration, and other real-world conditions. They include:
- Altitude simulation: This test simulates the effects of altitude on the battery.
- Shock and vibration: These tests assess the battery’s ability to withstand physical stress.
- Vibration with environmental (including humidity): This test combines vibration testing with environmental factors like humidity.
- Battery Abuse testing: This test evaluates the battery’s safety under abusive conditions.
- Life Cycle Testing: This test assesses the battery’s performance over its intended life cycle.
- Calendar Life Testing: This test evaluates the battery’s performance over a specified period.
- Immersion Testing: This test checks the battery’s ability to withstand immersion in water.
- Fuel Fire Testing: This test evaluates the battery’s safety when exposed to fire.
Performance and Reliability Testing
Performance and reliability are critical to ensure the quality of the whole electric vehicle. Over the course of their service life, batteries and their subsystems such as connections and cooling systems will deteriorate. The consequences of this can vary from loss of battery performance to total failure. This makes it essential to carry out EV battery testing to verify durability, safety, and reliability.
Safety Certification Testing
Safety certification testing ensures that your batteries, cells, chargers, and electrical components for use in automotive applications meet global safety requirements for all major manufacturers and industry certifications.
Standards for EV Battery Testing
Several global standards guide the testing of EV batteries to ensure maximum performance, durability, and safety2. These include:
- IEC 62619: Safety requirements for secondary lithium cells and batteries, for use in industrial applications.
- IEC 62660: Secondary lithium-ion cells for the propulsion of electric road vehicles.
- ISO 12405: Electrically propelled road vehicles.
- ISO 6469-1: Electrically propelled road vehicles – safety specifications – part 1: on-board rechargeable energy storage system (RESS).
- GB 38031: Electric vehicles traction battery safety requirements.
In conclusion, lithium-ion battery testing for electric vehicles is a comprehensive process that involves a variety of tests to ensure safety, performance, and reliability. These tests are guided by global standards and are critical in the development and production of electric vehicles. Testing is a critical step in the production of lithium-ion batteries. It ensures that the batteries are safe, reliable, and efficient, meeting the high standards required for use in electric vehicles.