The ministry in a notification said, “To strengthen the safety parameters for the testing of the batteries used in Electric Vehicles, Amendment-2, which was effective from 01st October 2022, was issued to both the Automotive Industry Standards (AIS)-156 and AIS-038 (Rev 2)."
The ministry in a statement further said that for the OEMs to be better equipped to comply /implement the provisions prescribed under the standards AIS-156 and AIS 038 (Rev 2).
“Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has decided to implement the Amendment 3 of the said AIS, as hosted on Ministry’s website, in two phases i.e, Phase 1 w.e.f. December 1, 2022 and Phase 2, w.e.f. March 31, 2023," it added.
These amendments include additional safety requirements related to battery cells, battery management system, on-board charger, design of battery pack, thermal propagation due to internal cell short circuit leading to fire etc.
On 22 August, Mint had reported that the union government is expected to issue new standards for electric vehicle (EV) batteries within a month.
Following the EV fire incidents, the road ministry formed two committees—one to look at the testing criteria and standards and the other to probe the reasons for fires. The investigation found that many batteries had cells connected in an unsafe manner and that several of them did not have a venting mechanism to disperse heat in case of overheating.
