Adapting to EURO 7
New EURO 7 emission standard requires guaranteed lifetime of e-car batteries
The EU Parliament has passed the agreement reached with the Council on the new Euro 7 emissions standard. While not including stricter emission rules, for the first time Euro 7 includes minimum requirements for the service life of batteries in electric and hybrid cars. In passenger cars, batteries must still provide 80 per cent of their original capacity after five years or 100,000 kilometers, and 72 per cent after eight years or 160,000 kilometers. For vans, values of 75 and 67 per cent apply.
What impact will the new regulation have on quality assurance and leak testing?
Leaks in battery cells as well as water ingress leaks in the battery pack can have an impact on the lifetime of the batteries.
On the cell level, intake of moisture and loss of electrolyte will cause the batteries to degrade quickly. For pouch cells, the pressure rise (due to air intake) will cause the pouch cells to lose shape and the stack inside the pouch will no longer be compressed properly which will cause de-layering and loss of capacity.
On the battery pack level, water ingress and loss of cooling liquid are the main enemies of longevity. Water ingress as well as leaks of cooling can lead to electric short circuiting, destroying one or many cells. Small leaks of cooling liquid can also cause overheating of the battery or bad cold start behavior which over time will also cause a faster decrease in capacity.
All of these accelerated aging processes can be prevented by proper leak testing on the cell level as well as on the pack level. Battery cells need to be tested as part of the end-of-line test during cell manufacturing. Battery trays and lids are typically tested on the component level already. The assembled pack is tested against water ingress to ensure the quality of the battery pack sealing.
When will the new EURO 7 standard come into force?
Now all that remains is for the Council to formally approve the agreement before it enters into force. It is expected that this will happen before mid of year. The regulation will apply 30 months after its entry into force for cars and vans that require a new type approval, and 48 months for buses, trucks and trailers. It is expected that this will be at the end of 2026 and mid of 2028 respectively.
We have described all leak testing steps in battery cell and battery pack production comprehensively in our e-book "E-Mobility - Leak testing of electric and fuel cell cars." It is available for download free-of-charge from our website.
For more immediate assistance, please contact your nearest sales representative.