In urban traffic, due to their beneficial effect on environment, electrically
propelled vehicles are an important factor for improvement of traffic and more
particularly for a better living environment.
The introduction of electrically propelled vehicles raises specific problems
in the field of standardization and regulation, due to the fact that the electrically
propelled vehicles unites several technologies such as automotive and electrical
technology.
Standardization work in the field is done by the competent bodies such as IEC
and ISO on a global
scale, and CENELEC
and CEN on European
level, for electrotechnical and general standardization respectively. Since
more than 10 years, ETEC actively participates in the standardization of electric
vehicles and their infrastructure, mandated by the Belgian national committes BEC and NBN.
At this moment, ETEC maintains the secreariate of technical committee
IEC TC69.
All standards can generally be divided in three categories:
- Safety standards, stating requirements to ensure the safety of personnel
- Dimensional standards, for the compatibility and interchangeability of
components such as plugs and sockets
- Performance standards, defining standard measurement procedures to objectively
assess the performance of systems or devices.
The evolution of electric vehicle standardization was the subject of the
doctoral thesis "The
eletcric vehicle: raising the standards" by Peter
Van den Bossche.