EV fires are likely to get lots of consideration, however the Insurance coverage Institute for Freeway Security (IIHS) warns that EVs’ added weight—and the injury it may well inflict on different street customers—is the true security concern.
“Fifty-five EV crash exams and 0 fires later, I’m nonetheless apprehensive about these batteries, however for a extra mundane purpose than their potential to burst into flames,” Raul Arbelaez, vp of the IIHS’ analysis middle, wrote final week in a weblog publish. My greatest concern is how heavy they’re and what all that further automobile weight means for the security of individuals on the street, particularly occupants of lighter autos in addition to pedestrians and bicyclists.”
2022 GMC Hummer EV fitted with equipment – 2021 SEMA present
Present EVs usually weigh greater than equal internal-combustion autos due to the big battery packs wanted by most autos to realize ample vary. If automakers cannot considerably cut back weight, then they need to take into account redesigning EV crash constructions to assist compensate for it in collisions with lighter autos, Arbelaez argues.
Making use of the obtainable area that may in any other case be occupied by an engine, automakers may add crush area to the entrance ends of their EVs to realize this, Arbelaez suggests.
“Whereas we often take into consideration crumple zones as necessary for safeguarding a automobile’s personal occupants, extra area would additionally defend folks in different, lighter autos.”
Mercedes-Benz Imaginative and prescient EQXX
The additional weight of EVs in comparison with internal-combustion autos is one thing the IIHS has checked out earlier than, however with a rising portion of EVs on the highways, it is undoubtedly a rising concern. Extra of these EVs are additionally large vans, the 9,000-lb GMC Hummer EV being the most effective examples of that pattern.
Along with security considerations, added weight can have a damaging impression on general emissions. A latest research confirmed that lighter EVs are the greenest autos when it comes to general carbon footprint. One other research discovered that greater batteries can enhance particulate emissions—together with and particularly, from tires.
Not each automaker is locked into greater batteries. Mercedes-Benz has thought-about going again to air-cooled batteries and emphasizing aero as a part of an effort to go light-weight, demonstrating these concepts in its Imaginative and prescient EQXX idea.