Climate change, sustainability, CO2 neutral: electromobility is a technology designed to make vehicles more environmentally friendly and efficient. In this context, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are regarded as a key technology for battery storage and are finding increasing application as traction batteries for electrified vehicles. Despite advantages, traction batteries pose additional potential hazards, especially in the event of a vehicle crash, such as electrical hazards, e.g. electric shocks in the event of poor insulation after a crash or additional risk to emergency personnel, chemical hazards due to toxic components in the electrolyte and emissions in the event of a fire, and especially thermal hazards due to the risk of fire in the event of deformed battery cells and, subsequently, difficult-to-extinguish sources of fire in Li-ion batteries.

The declared goal of the Battery Safety Center Graz is to take batteries for e-vehicles to their load limits in a targeted manner, thereby generating valuable data on the safety of future electrical energy storage systems. The innovative testing possibilities under laboratory conditions make the center the only research facility of its kind in Europe.