New Committee to Create Vehicle Battery Standards

The continued development of new and advanced battery technologies will play a critical role as vehicle manufacturers increase the availability of hybrid- electric vehicles, move toward the implementation of plug-in hybrid-electric and battery-exclusive vehicles, and continue research into other variations of electric-related vehicle propulsion systems.

"We, along with the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers (AIAM), recognize the importance that batteries and battery technology play in the design and development of new vehicles. SAE International has long been at the forefront of standards development and we feel that this committee will fill a crucial need in the development of this technology," David L. Schutt, PhD, Chief Executive Officer, SAE International, said.

The new SAE Vehicle Battery Standards Committee will initially focus on standardizing battery performance and safety and will assure harmonization with other standards development in the U.S. and around the world.

"AIAM members look forward to the opportunity to participate in the new SAE Vehicle Battery Standards Committee," said Michael J. Stanton, President and CEO of AIAM. "The work of this Committee will be of great value to vehicle and battery manufacturers, and in particular will help assure appropriate levels of safety are incorporated into battery systems for vehicle propulsion."

The SAE Vehicle Battery Standards Committee will report to the SAE Motor Vehicle Council, which is responsible for development of all passenger car, light duty truck and van standards within SAE International.

"The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers fully supports the creation by SAE of a new Vehicle Battery Standards Committee. This is consistent with SAE’s traditional role of drawing together leading industry experts to develop standards that help guide the auto industry with state-of-the-art design practices. Advanced battery technology is one of the most important technical issues being addressed by Alliance members today. SAE’s involvement will complement Alliance members’ actions already in place to develop electric vehicle technologies with a high-level of safety," said Robert Strassburger, Vice President of Safety and Harmonization of the Alliance.

SAE International is a global association of more than 121,000 engineers and related technical experts in the automotive, aerospace and commercial-vehicle industries. SAE International’s core competencies are life-long learning and standards development. SAE International’s charitable arm is the SAE Foundation, which supports many programs, including A World In Motion(R) and the Collegiate Design Series.

www.sae.org/servlets/index