How to isolate an EV battery for emergency responders

Road rescuers globally are encountering more electric vehicles involved in collisions where the driver or passengers need extrication.

While very low, the risk of electrocution from cutting into an EV is real. Isolating the high voltage traction battery in an EV de-energises the high voltage cables & components located around the vehicle, making it safer to work around.

Unfortunately, there's no standardisation across EV manufacturers on HOW to isolate the HV battery. So we took the opportunity at the recent EV Expo run by the ‪@AEVANational‬ in Canberra, to look at two ways.

Two responder tools, the CUT LOOP & PULL FUSE are low voltage connections that isolate high voltage systems. We also talk about the MANUAL SERVICE DISCONNECT PLUG, but this should only be used by trained mechanics as it's a direct connection to high voltage (in EVs, high voltage is over 60V & marked with orange conduit or stickers.

We've been working with the Victorian State Emergency Service & other Australian rescue agencies to start building a set of draft considerations for rescue responders when dealing with an EV, which can be downloaded here: https://www.evfiresafe.com/ev-extrica...

Thanks for watching!

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IMPORTANT: This video is provided for informational purposes only. Always follow your emergency agency SOPs when attending EV fires &/or incidents.

About the EV FireSafe research project
EV FireSafe is a research project aiming to identify the risks to emergency responders when attending an electric vehicle (EV) lithium traction battery fire, particularly where that vehicle is connected to energised charging. Our all-female team are proudly funded by the Australian Department of Defence, with assistance from Deakin University.

Online training with EV FireSafe:
Installing EV charging at a commercial or government site? Complete our fast, video-based online training course for a breakdown of the risks & simple steps you can take to make your site as safe as possible for your staff, visitors, drivers & emergency responders! Go to - https://evfiresafe-training.thinkific...