There is over 100 years of experience of how a "normal" car behaves when it catches fire – emergency services know how to deal with such fires. The modern electric car has a much shorter history. In other words, there is not as much knowledge about fires caused by – or in – electric vehicles. However, there is an answer to the question of whether electric cars are more likely to catch fire than petrol and diesel cars.  

One in ten chance of an electric car battery fire 

– We now know that the probability of an electric car battery fire is about one-tenth the risk of a conventional vehicle fire. Then there is the fact that battery fires cannot be extinguished, only suppressed and controlled. But overall I would still say that electric vehicles have a lower fire risk than conventional vehicles, says Michael Rahm, Business Developer, Fire-Safe Transport, at RISE.  

– Over time, the difficulties in dealing with electric vehicle fires will decrease. Everything is based on the knowledge of everyone from car owners to insurance companies and emergency services, says Michael Rahm.

At the RISE Battery Safety Lab in Borås, batteries are exposed to extreme conditions. Companies that develop or use batteries in their products come here to have their batteries tested. How high and low temperatures can batteries endure? How well do they perform when subjected to strong vibrations and shocks?  

In the battery safety lab, with its extra-thick concrete walls and steel doors, batteries undergo fire testing. They have found that fires in electric cars are neither more intense nor longer lasting than fires in diesel and petrol cars. However, it is more difficult to extinguish fires in electric cars due to the chemical composition and design of the batteries.

Growing need for environmentally-friendly battery testing 

Increasingly powerful batteries are a prerequisite for electrification and the green transition. This development leads to an increased need for testing. At the moment, the testing capacity matches the demand, says Michael Rahm. But he expects the pressure to increase in the future. Partly because there are new regulations and standards in the pipeline, and partly because in the near future we will see battery storage combined with solar systems in people's homes. In other words, the need for knowledge from testing will not diminish. And when it comes to battery tests that don't have a negative impact on the environment, the supply today is not very large. Michael Rahm:

– In other organisations, many of these safety-critical tests, especially of larger batteries, are performed outdoors. Our facility is built as an explosion-proof bunker, and we purify water and gases that would otherwise seep into the ground and enter the atmosphere. We are actually unique in the world in this respect and we believe it will become a new standard in battery testing. There have been enough ”black marks from greenification”, trying to go green but at the expense of the environment.   

The advanced and environmentally friendly testing facility is an important resource for companies that take the environmental aspects of their product development seriously, while at the same time wanting to demonstrate to the market that they meet specific requirements.  

– The importance of the laboratory in strengthening the competitiveness of companies should not be underestimated. The automotive industry will develop new types of batteries with better performance, and then you have to test them to make sure you are on the right track, says Michael Rahm.

Mietek believes that every day is fun, every moment is interesting - there are no quick wins to be made, but what's required is a scientific approach and work that leads to us being able to take care of the opportunities that exist with SiC.

–  It's obvious! What drives me is being curious about technology and research, about science, and being able to benefit the world by creating systems that use less electrical energy!

At the same time, Mietek argues that the field is constantly developing because the processes and materials are so complicated:

– Many believe that the field is finished, but that's not yet true even though we are now starting to see applications in reality - what's still missing is reliability, and there we are still at the beginning. The basic development is not yet complete, and we will see problems emerge around materials, construction, processing in the coming years where we need to go deeper. IGBT transistors (not SiC, or silicon carbide) are clearly cheaper today and many still choose silicon as a base due to price differences with SiC, but that's wrong thinking - they don't consider lifespan and savings.

Mietek is one of the world's most renowned researchers in the field and came to Chalmers University in Gothenburg as early as 1969 as a student from Poland, where student actions and unrest made life uncertain. He quickly became a doctor of physics focusing on radiation and transistors to be used in space, and researched high-voltage silicon-based circuits. Mietek has also done a postdoc at NASA's jet propulsion lab but returned to Sweden and has worked in the high-voltage field since then - first at ABB (formerly ASEA) with responsibility for Gate Turn Transistors, then at the Institute for Microelectronics which now belongs to RISE.

Mietek likes to stay close to technology development and knowledge generation and emphasizes the importance of being able to talk with industrial partners about what they need while also having a strong connection to basic research. Mietek has a strong aversion to bureaucracy, management layers, and emphasizes the importance of doing something every day that drives development forward:

– Not all roles create value! At ABB, they even had different sized chairs, not just 'my desk is bigger than yours'. I see the core of the business as research, an open way of working and utilizing each other's competence is what generates knowledge. (not the size of the chairs)

The twists and turns around silicon carbide have been many, in Sweden and the rest of the world, and have at times led a languishing existence. Mietek emphasizes that there is still an incredibly strong collective expertise around the Electrum laboratory in Stockholm, which serves as a hub for both academic research and applied development.

From "tech push" to growing demand

On a global level, silicon-based electronics have a total market that is far larger than more exotic materials, but in power electronics, development is rapidly moving towards new component designs (transistor architecture, processes) with materials such as silicon carbide and eventually perhaps Gallium Nitride (GaN) for use in key systems such as inverters. In the field, next-generation materials such as GaS and even diamond as base substrates are already being discussed. The major advantage of power electronics using tougher materials is reduced energy losses, which makes energy consumption in, for example, an electric truck significantly lower.

Is it happening now?

–  Yes, perhaps - we see how larger international customers are turning to RISE to take advantage of our expertise and lab equipment, and there is consensus that components in power conversion must use other material systems.

How do we perform the research?

RISE is an institute that engages in both academic and applied research. In the fields of semiconductors and power electronics, we have numerous scientific publications (see below), as well as clients whom we support in their development work. Our clients are both Swedish and international, and the development projects often involve sensitive issues or new areas. For example, we support the development of new types of sensors, processes, and material choices.

Here, you can read about our offerings, our services, and our laboratories.

What drives our scientists?

Meet our world-renowned nestor in Power Electronics - Mietek Bakowski

Meet one of the few who understands how quantum physics can be implemented in semiconductor components - Qin Wang

What research is being made?

A tremendous amount of research is conducted in electronics, circuits, and integrated chips. Different international groups have their niches, with RISE leveraging its infrastructure and labs to study areas such as WBG materials, quantum effects, photonics, graphene, as well as MEMS technology and sensors. One of our strengths is our long background in power electronics, where we study materials, processing, and system design. Often, clients come to us with specific questions, and we work on sensitive assignments, or we collaborate with industry partners in publicly funded projects (EU, Vinnova, among others).

What is power electronics?

Power electronic devices are used to handle high voltages and currents, ranging from household electronics to space applications. Power electronics are becoming increasingly important for many players in the automotive and electromobility fields. By using new materials, we can save energy and manage harsher environments.

Fast charging requires increasingly higher voltage, with rapid progress towards 800V and even 1200V, which imposes entirely new requirements. Many new areas are expected to emerge in the coming years.

Feel free to read more about our expertise in power electronics here.

Many anticipate that the EU will implement tariffs or taxes to level the playing field against cars that can be produced under significantly different conditions than in Europe. However, there are sceptical voices.

– Tariffs are probably not the most effective long-term solution. Instead, we should set clear climate requirements for cars. For instance, no car would be allowed to be sold in Europe if production and transport resulted in emissions greater than the equivalent of 17 tonnes of carbon dioxide. That would encourage further development, says Peter Bryntesson, CEO of FKG, the trade organisation for Scandinavian suppliers to the automotive industry.

Software instead of spare parts

– We have an efficient industry and there is a willingness to develop products, but competition and the climate challenge mean that more is needed, says Daniel Wiklund, Unit Manager at RISE. – Digitalisation in particular offers completely new opportunities for production. Instead of building business models around selling spare parts, you can sell updates. In manufacturing, the same item can have many more applications, the car simply becomes smarter.

Build cars with less raw material consumption

One of the key aspects of streamlining is to reduce the use of resources, including virgin materials, in manufacturing. If cars are designed to be dismantled, it also means we can reduce our dependence on virgin materials. In the long run, it should be cheaper to manufacture from recycled parts, but this is not yet the case.

Daniel Wiklund points out that there are examples of remanufactured gearboxes in lorries today that are sold with the same functions and warranty as a new one. However, this is also an example of how legislation and regulations affect the industry's conditions.

The classification of parts of an old car is a key factor in determining their future use. In some cases, parts that could be important, useful and safe in industrial processes are classified as hazardous waste. By changing the rules governing this classification, we can also increase resilience and become less dependent on uncertain value chains. 

Securing access to electricity and critical raw materials

Another key issue is energy supply, according to Peter Bryntesson. Without access to clean energy, it would be impossible to operate any kind of business. However, with more clean electricity production and smarter grids, electric cars can actually be part of the solution. The technology exists to use the capacity of the cars parked at Arlanda, where we even know how long they will stay, to power parts of the airport.

Bryntesson reiterates that the technical issues are relatively minor. The majority of the problems are caused by lockdowns in areas such as communication, culture and legislation.

RISE can help facilitate a paradigm shift

It is therefore more important to address energy supply, access to metals, semiconductors and skills supply than to focus on tariffs. Peter Bryntesson, who also chairs the national organisations of the European industry association Clepa, notes that a third of companies in the European automotive industry are already engaged in re-skilling their workforce, with another third indicating a need to do so. 

RISE is supporting this work in various ways.

– Many of the changes that industry is now working on, such as increasing the recycling of parts and materials, are multidisciplinary," says Daniel Wiklund, and continues: 

– For this reason, an organisation like RISE, with a broad offering of applied research and test and demonstration environments for development and scaling up, is an ideal partner in the industry's transition.

– Production lines are expensive and it is natural that industry wants to keep them running for as long as possible. However, together with us, the necessary paradigm shifts can be made so that we do not lose the competition but win it.

RISE test and demonstration environments allow different actors to develop new methods and solutions without losing momentum in existing activities. The knowledge accumulated in traceability and sustainability analyses enables the production of reliable sustainability data, a prerequisite for future declarations on the total environmental impact of products, such as future digital product passports. This supports industry in preparing for new requirements and future legislation, both those we know about today and those we can only imagine.

– And we are also working hard to educate those who are working, an important part of the transition, says Daniel Wiklund.

For Peter Bryntesson's members, the whole of Sweden, with its size, its large automotive industry, academia and, not least, RISE's support, can therefore constitute a test market when Europe takes up the fight for the important future electric car market. 

By 2030, almost all new cars on the road could be electric. This is according to scenarios developed by advocacy organisation Power Circle as part of the energy research project 'An Electricity System for Electric Vehicles'. But for a fully electrified vehicle fleet to be feasible, the infrastructure - the network of charging stations from north to south - is of course crucial. At the end of 2023, there will be about 34,400 public charging points in Sweden, spread over about 4,700 charging stations.  

"I think most consumers take it for granted that these charging points are controlled in a similar way to petrol and diesel stations, that they are safe and that you get what you pay for. But charging stations are not yet regulated in detail," says Anders Nilsson, Senior Business Developer in Electrification and Reliability at RISE.  

"Ensuring reliable infrastructure" 

Deployment has been slow, and the regulatory framework has not kept pace. It takes time to revise international guidelines. While waiting for comprehensive EU requirements on how charging stations should be regulated, some countries have opted to develop national guidelines. In practice, this can create technical barriers to trade as regulations differ in different markets and create a complex situation for industry players, says Anders Nilsson.

Manufacturers have also recognised the need to have the electricity meter module in the charging station tested by an independent certification body. "There is a clear regulatory framework for electricity meters, the Measuring Instruments Directive (MID), but it does not yet specifically cover charging stations.

However, despite the lack of regulation, it is already possible to test entire charging stations. This is what RISE engineers do when they go out to existing charging stations and carry out checks. Using calibrated measuring equipment, they can see whether the charging station is delivering the energy for which the customer is being charged.  

"Checking the stations ensures a reliable infrastructure. Of course, operators are also interested in ensuring that everything is in order. "This can be a selling point to the market: when you charge with us, you get what you pay for because RISE has checked it," says Anders Nilsson. 

Can have a negative impact on trust

During the inspection, engineers also check that cables and plugs are in good condition and meet electrical safety requirements.  

"There have not yet been any incidents related to charging stations in Sweden, but it only takes one injury to make headlines. Once an accident happens, it could affect confidence in the charging infrastructure, which in turn could slow down electrification," says Anders Nilsson and continues:  

"The stations are relatively new now, but over time the cables will wear out. Someone will forget to unplug and drive away, as has happened with petrol stations. So when we go out to measure, we also want to see how the equipment looks. The inspection is as much about consumer protection as it is about safety."

RISE maintains a close dialogue with Swedac, the Swedish regulatory authority for regulated measurement technology, to follow developments in the implementation of charging stations in the EU's Measuring Instruments Directive (MID). As RISE is already testing new products under development and existing products in the field, Anders Nilsson can announce that the team will be ready when new comprehensive regulations are introduced.