Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers Version 5.01 Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers Produced by Mick Holton Learning & Development - NSW Rural Fire Service Formerly Senior Rescue Instructor – Fire and Rescue NSW Please note that this presentation is designed to be delivered by a presenter

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers Could I die if I put water onto an electric vehicle?

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers “With educated responders, it’s no big deal" High-voltage battery packs zipping along our freeways?

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers “The Red Flag Syndrome”

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers The "Safe and Sound" system from Lotus generates artificial noise that sounds like a normal gas-powered combustion engine

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers Why does this bird remain safe from the electricity?

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers Potential difference

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers A simple electrical circuit An electrical source (battery) Electrical load (resistor)

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers A simple electrical circuit

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers Active Neutral

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers Active Neutral

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers © FOX

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers © FOX

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers Electric Vehicles (EV) Overnight charging or Quick charge (30 mins)

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers Rapid Charge EV Full charge in 10 minutes or less

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers Battery Change EV An exchange battery in 1 or 2 minutes

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers Fuel Cell EV (FCEV)

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers How does a fuel cell work? Anode - negative Cathode - positive Hydrogen – H 2 Proton exchange membrane (PEM) Electrolyte Oxygen – 0 (in air) 2 Water – H 0 2 Positive Hydrogen Ions (Protons) Negative Electrons

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers Hybrid Vehicles Toyota Camry Toyota Prius Honda Civic Lexus CT200h Lexus RX450h At the time that this presentation was created the following new Hybrid vehicles were readily available in Australia Lexus LS600h L

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers Other Hybrid Vehicles Hino 714 Hybrid  Toyota Prius (older and newer models)  Honda Civic  Honda Insight  Lexus Hybrids  Hino Trucks  Hybrid concept and trial vehicles  Plus any imported vehicles

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers Plug-in Hybrids The Toyota plug-in hybrid concept vehicle has lithium-ion batteries that can be charged in approximately 100 minutes. When fully charged, it has an electric range of approximately 20km. At other times the vehicle functions as a conventional petrol-electric hybrid vehicle.

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers Hybrid Vehicle Technology Let’s have a closer look at

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers What is a Hybrid Vehicle? Electric motor / generator Internal combustion engine It would need two methods of storing the energy: A high voltage battery and a fuel (fuel tank) A hybrid vehicles will have more than one source of on-board energy Example – a petrol / electric hybrid would have: Honda IMA system

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers Types of Hybrid Systems Series Hybrid System (Petrol / Electric) Internal Combustion Engine Generator Or Alternator High Voltage Battery Electric Motor Final Drive & Road Wheels Plug in or Power out

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers Parallel Hybrid System (Petrol / Electric) High Voltage Battery Electric Motor Generator or Alternator Types of Hybrid Systems Internal Combustion Engine Final Drive & Road Wheels Transmission

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers Hybrid Vehicle Identification  Look for a “Hybrid” logo or badge

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers  Look for orange coloured electrical cables (not an ADR) Electric Vehicle Identification

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers  Look for a battery pack (high voltage battery) Electric Vehicle Identification

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers  Look for warning labels Electric Vehicle Identification

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers Electric Vehicle Identification  Look for logos or badges  No exhaust pipe  An electrical connection inside the “filler cap”

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers  Look for high voltage components Electric Vehicle Identification

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers  Look for clues in the instrumentation Electric Vehicle Identification

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers Hazards  A potential exists for electrocution or severe physical injury  High voltage electrical components and circuits (can be as high as 650v and up to 350A) Note: The high voltage battery could be mistaken for a fuel tank HV and EV Hazards  High voltage battery

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers Hazards  A potential exists for electrocution or severe physical injury  High voltage electrical components and circuits (can be as high as 650v and up to 350A)  High voltage battery  Inverter / Converter HV and EV Hazards  High voltage cables Cables (L-R) MG (Lexus RX), EPS (46v) and HV Battery

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers  Petrol engine may start without warning  Electric motors operate silently and may start without warning  High alkaline electrolyte in the high voltage battery (pH 13.5) Hazards

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers  SRS  Other hazards consistent with any modern motor vehicle design  Battery acid from the 12v auxiliary battery  Fuels and oils Note: Auxiliary batteries may be located in the boot, in the engine compartment or even hidden behind a firewall Hazards

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers  140 to 330 Volts  Electrolyte is: a)Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) An alkaline of Potassium and Sodium Hydroxide (pH 13.5) a)Lithium-ion battery An electrolyte made of a flammable “Carbonate ester solution with lithium salt”. High Voltage Batteries (HV & EV) Hazards

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers Potential Hazards Risk Management YOU

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers  Chemical spillage suit, rubber boots, chemical gloves & goggles for electrolyte spills (FRNSW) PPE  Min PPE as required for all rescue work including head, eyes and face protection  Insulated electrical gloves & pliers for electrical work (rescue agencies & vehicle repairers)

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers Emergency Response  Check for dangers before approaching or touching the vehicle  Chock the wheels and stabilise the vehicle  Don’t think that because the vehicle is silent that it is shut off  Gain entry when safe to do so  Apply the park brake if possible Generic

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers Emergency Response  Check for dangers before approaching or touching the vehicle  Chock the wheels and stabilise the vehicle  Don’t think that because the vehicle is silent that it is shut off  Gain entry when safe to do so  Apply the park brake if possible  Select “Park” if possible Push Button on Toyota Prius 2 nd Generation Generic

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers Emergency Response  Check for dangers before approaching or touching the vehicle  Chock the wheels and stabilise the vehicle  Don’t think that because the vehicle is silent that it is shut off  Gain entry when safe to do so  Apply the park brake if possible  Select “Park” if possible  Remove the ignition key or “Smart Key” This Smart Key needs to be located then taken at least 5m away from the vehicle Generic

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers Emergency Response  Check for dangers before approaching or touching the vehicle  Chock the wheels and stabilise the vehicle  Don’t think that because the vehicle is silent that it is shut off  Gain entry when safe to do so  Apply the park brake if possible  Select “Park” if possible  Remove the ignition key or “Smart Key”  Beware of additional functions Generic A/C Activation Button

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers  Locate and disconnect the negative terminal from the auxiliary battery  Think before you act because you may need this power Emergency Response Toyota Prius 1st Generation Mitsubishi i-MiEV

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers  Pull the fuses Emergency Response Which one is for the high voltage battery?  If your unsure then pull them all

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers  Locate and remove the high voltage battery service plug or operate the isolation switch Emergency Response

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers Emergency Response Submerged or Partially Submerged Vehicles  Manufacturers state: There is no risk of electric shock from touching the car’s body or chassis – in or out of the water (Manufacturers HVT Response Guide publications)  Avoid cutting a submerged floor pan  Do not make direct contact with high voltage electrical components  A potential exists for electrocution or severe physical injury if any part of your body comes into contact with and completes the high voltage electrical circuit  It may be safer to remove the vehicle from the water prior to patient extrication

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers WARNING Power remains in the SRS system and in the High Voltage Electrical system for up to 5 minutes Proceed with caution Emergency Response

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers Emergency Response These capacitors keep the SRS system active for a while after battery disconnection

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers Emergency Response These capacitors may keep the high voltage circuit between the inverter / converter and the electric motor active for a while after battery disconnection 450V

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers  Avoid cutting high voltage cables  Don’t dismantle high voltage components  Always carry out the high voltage battery isolation procedures prior to cutting any high voltage cables or dismantling any high voltage components  Wear insulated electrical gloves that are in good condition and use insulated electrical pliers that are in good condition to carry out any cutting of high voltage cables  Tape up any exposed electrical conductors with electrical tape Emergency Response

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers Fire Fighting

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers Fire Fighting  Standard vehicle fire fighting practices  Firefighting PPE including respiratory protection  Water is a suitable extinguishing agent  Fast aggressive initial fire attack  Divert runoff from entering waterways or storm water drains  Attack teams may not be able to identify a hybrid or electric vehicle until the fire has been knocked down Vehicle fires that are not involving the High Voltage Battery

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers  Use a CO 2 extinguisher on a high voltage battery fire  Never remove the battery case covers to access a high voltage battery fire, it is safer to protect exposures and allow the battery modules to burn themselves out  Only use water on high voltage battery fires if you can flood the area around the high voltage battery with copious amounts of water. This will control the fire by cooling the modules to below their ignition temperature, the remaining modules that are not extinguished will burn themselves out High Voltage Battery fires Fire Fighting

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers  The HV battery pack consists of NiMH electrolyte cells which contain a strong alkaline gel (ph 13.5) that is destructive to human tissue  PPE including chemical spillage suit, safety glasses, chemical gloves and rubber boots must be worn  An acid solution or vinegar could be used to neutralize an alkaline spill  A spillage of this size (HV battery) could easily be contained with dry earth or sand then placed into a HazMat bin for disposal  Any residual alkaline gel can be diluted with a large quantity of water HazMat

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers This presentation is provided in the interest of public safety, it has been used as a learning tool for emergency service activities. There are some photos and images that have been sourced using the internet. All care has been taken to ensure that copyright issues have been appropriately managed. The Homer Simpson character is the property of FOX Studios, he was used to point to an electrical circuit. Homer was used after consulting the terms and conditions from the web site which stated that all materials are protected by international trademark and copyright laws and must only be used for personal, non- commercial purposes. If you believe that any material contained in the presentation infringes your copyright, you should contact Mick Holton. If you modify this presentation to suit your own service requirements you should remove the FRNSW and RFS logos. Mick Holton Learning and Development Officer NSW Rural Fire Service - Monaro Team P.O. Box 74, Berridale, NSW, 2628 Copyright Information

Potential Hazards of Electric Vehicles a guide for emergency service workers