Podcast: Electric vehicle system safety - Debunking common myths and exploring new technology

Key takeaways from this episode:

• Most high-voltage systems within an electric vehicle today are also protected with fuses.
• The fuses are meant to protect against much larger current and voltage levels (as compared to petrol vehicles) due to the power levels of the batteries.
• We’re seeing a transition to alternative circuit-protection methods, such as electromagnetic disconnecting devices and some solid-state solutions, as the power levels and voltages and currents need to increase.
• One of the most common misconceptions related to EV safety is that electric vehicles are inherently less safe than petrol or diesel vehicles because of this large amount of stored electrical energy.
• Petrol contains a lot of stored chemical energy, so in reality both petrol and electric vehicles have a large amount of stored energy, so one cannot identify one as safer than the other. However, different considerations must be taken into account when comparing the two.
• Short circuits are not a common occurrence in electric vehicles. However, the size of the battery can impact the severity of a short circuit event
• A larger battery does not increase the likelihood of a short circuit.
• Faster charging speeds mean higher current levels, so more robust electrical system components are required.
• Although regulations vary by region, most focus on CO2 emissions reduction and fuel economy improvement across a fleet of vehicles.
• Functional safety is among the biggest electrical system challenges that EV manufacturers face.
• Functional safety can be improved by implementing diagnostics or redundancies in the electronics to ensure a safety, even if one of the critical components malfunction.
• Technology innovations like Breaktor™ circuit protection, which is a combination of a circuit breaker and a contactor, are designed to improve the functional safety of an electric-vehicle circuit-protection system.
• To increase overall safety of electric-vehicle systems, OEMs can work to ensure that any level of unsafe current the battery may produce can be safely protected. And OEMs can consider implementing advanced protection devices, like Breaktor, that are designed to improve the functional safety of the protection system.

To learn more, visit Eaton.com/eMobility.