What’s the worst thing that could happen? Magnus Nilsson, a unit head at RISE, hesitates a little, but then answers: 

“The worst-case scenario is someone hacking a number of electric vehicles being charged in an indoor car park. They overcharge the batteries and set fire to the entire car park. And if you have a residential building above, well, things can develop pretty quickly.” 

“When an electric vehicle ignites, it produces an extremely fierce and toxic fire that’s difficult to extinguish.”  

In October 2024, Sweden had more than 45,000 registered charging points. This is still less than the EU recommendation of one public charging point for every ten vehicles*, so we can expect to see a continued expansion over the next few years.  

This means that countless organisations and associations, with no previous experience of providing this type of service, will become charging providers. The board of a housing cooperative, hoteliers, restaurant branch managers and others are to suddenly understand and plan for the risks associated with providing electric vehicle charging. 

“This knowledge is often lacking,” says Nilsson.  

There are multiple risk factors that both providers and users need to be protected from: incorrect settings that can cause personal injury or property damage, cyber attacks, unauthorised charging, complicated handling and more. 

Package offering with inspections and certification 

Accordingly, RISE is now launching a package offering with regular charging station inspections as well as the certification and testing of charging components and infrastructure.  

Ted Strandberg is a project manager at RISE with a focus on cyber security. He says that the current NIS directive** and new EU regulations will mean mandatory safety requirements for everything from product development and operation to incident management. 

There is good reason to prepare for the stricter rules that are on their way in, he says. 

The cyber threats that charging providers need to be prepared for mainly concern payments (incorrect fees, free charging), the overcharging of batteries resulting in fire, and disruptions to the power grid. 

“Someone could hack the charging station via the vehicle, or vice versa, hack the vehicle via the charging station,” says Strandberg. 

“If someone manages to hack their way in and disrupt the charging stations by switching the charging function on and off for several vehicles at the same time, it could have a major impact on the power grid and risk damaging equipment.” 

The goal: Harmonised regulations across the EU 

One goal is to achieve harmonised regulations, at either EU or national level, Nilsson explains. 

“At the moment, countless charging posts are being installed before all the regulations are in place. My personal opinion is that the two should go hand in hand.” 

He explains that there is concern in the industry that stations are being installed by insufficiently qualified individuals. 

“This is why we started a project group for charging stations. To help the market see what rules are coming and to ensure that consumers get the energy they pay for.” 

Verification services an existing offering 

RISE has long offered trade and industry verification services for, among other things, scales and fuel meters. 

“In the case of standard petrol and diesel pumps, for example, we check whether the right software version is installed. The right electronics? Are all installations in order? Is it truly type-approved?” 

The equivalent service will now be offered for charging stations. 

“We’ve developed mobile equipment that we’re currently field testing. We’re collecting measurement data from different types of charging stations to form a picture of the market situation. Will we find meters that can’t be tested? Is everything installed correctly? What do the meters show?” 

How long does a regular charging station inspection like this take? 

Nilsson says that RISE is testing about 100 different charging stations from various manufacturers. Then they will establish a standard method. 

“At the moment, we’re timing the inspections. But they don’t take several hours. We’re looking at being able to test several charging stations at the same time. The inspections need to be optimised, efficient and effective.” 

*As of October 2024, Sweden had about 14 vehicles per charging point. 

**NIS2 has been adopted by the European parliament and includes, among other things, higher penalty fees. 

“It's been a crazy time to make a billion dollar investment like this. But we are extremely proud and happy to now be able to open the doors to three new test environments for electromobility. And the interest, well, that’s grown more than the construction index and timber prices,” says Henrik Svenningstorp. 

Full-scale vehicle testing 

Henrik Svenningstorp is CEO of SEEL,owned by RISE and Chalmers University of Technology and which in 2023 will begin testing vehicles and components for electromobility on a full scale in Gothenburg, Borås and Nykvarn. 

“We’re not trying to be the best at making batteries or electric motors, we’re simply trying to be the best at measuring them. In Säve, we have facilities covering some 15,000 square metres with essentially everything you need to test whatever needs to be tested within electromobility: batteries, shafts, vehicles, electrical components, noise and vibration, charging systems… The facility in Nykvarn is a little smaller, with a focus on heavy vehicles. This is where, for example, we have the most powerful equipment for testing electric motor shafts. The only thing we can’t do in Gothenburg or Nykvarn is safety-critical and destructive testing. That we do in Borås.” 

"The lab for safety-critical testing in Borås is a world-leading test environment with the greatest possible concern for the environment. All tests take place in a controllable and fully repeatable indoor environment, and thanks to a state-of-the-art treatment plant, both flue gases and extinguishing water are taken care of, which means the highest possible environmental friendliness when testing batteries", says Michael Rahm, department manager for Fire and Safety at RISE.

The fume treatment plant can handle 170,000 cubic metres of smoke an hour. This makes it possible to incinerate an entire passenger car in an orderly fashion, taking care of all the fumes and measuring their composition. Since the facility is run by RISE, certification will be possible from the outset. The long-term ambition is to accumulate extensive technical expertise that will enable the testbed to offer virtual testing as well. 

The goal: A neutral meeting place for small, innovative companies to meet major players 

“Our goal is clear: We want to be a neutral meeting place conducive to new collaborations, whether between large and small companies or industry, academia and institutes. Europe has relatively few open and accessible testing facilities of this size. And we’re well aware that large companies appreciate the innovation boost they can gain from collaborating with smaller, innovative companies. Similarly, smaller companies may need to test their ideas in the environments in which major players are found while protecting their future patents,” Svenningstorp explains. 

In collaboration with RISE, it will be possible to support small companies seeking funding for their first major investments. SEEL will be judged by its owners on how well it succeeds in encouraging collaboration. Four major industrial companies are involved in the project as guaranteed customers, and their testing needs are extensive. Parallel to this, there is room for other companies of different sizes, and should space prove to be limited as time goes by, there are ambitions to expand.  

Sharply increased interest in recent years 

“There’s a great deal going on right now. Since receiving our EU approval in 2019, interest has only increased. We’re also busy on several fronts. In Säve, parts of the laboratory are even prepared for hydrogen and fuel cells, a possible replacement power source for all large vehicles with internal combustion engines currently trafficking the roads that need to transition. We’ve entered into a partnership with the shipping industry and signed an MoU (memorandum of understanding) with several stakeholders.”  

Initial contact has been made with the aviation industry. Svenningstorp underlines that while there are major differences between truck and jet engines, the differences between electric motors for different types of transport are smaller. 

“In principle, if we can measure rotational speed, torque, current and voltage, then we can test a powertrain regardless of whether it’s for a vehicle, a ship or an aircraft.” 

“We’ll also be able to test infrastructure, such as charging stations. For some areas of the recycling industry, our labs may prove necessary when making new products from what is currently treated as waste. The same applies to the energy industry, which is developing vehicle-to-load and vehicle-to-grid – different systems for using electric vehicle batteries for energy storage.” 

Facilities designed for education and training 

On top of all this, there is a need to train the workforce for all the battery factories and other operations in the growing electromobility industry. The testbed facilities are designed to enable education and training. 

“We are now ready to open our three sites with grand openings in September. These are exciting times,” Svenningstorp ends. 

Many factors affect measurements: the human factor, temperature, humidity, properties of the object being measured, the measuring instrument we use, etc. But no matter how good the measuring instruments we use are or how ideal the conditions are, it is not possible to know that the measured value is the true one.

“There are many concepts that describe quality in measurements, but one of the most central for us metrologists is measurement uncertainty. Note that it is uncertainty, not accuracy or precision. All measurements have systematic or random errors, and the word uncertainty confirms this fact”, says Jan Johansson, responsible for the National Laboratories at RISE.

Measured value and measurement uncertainty give measurement result

The measurement uncertainty indicates how much the measured value of the measuring instrument can differ from the true value with a certain probability (usually 95 percent). The measured value together with the measurement uncertainty gives a measurement result. The measurement result 5.00 m +- 0.02 m means that the true value is, with great probability, between 4.98 and 5.02 meters.

“If you are going to build a porch, you need to think about which plank lengths, tools, measuring methods and measuring instruments are available. With the right measurement methods and calibrated measuring instruments, it possible to reduce the measurement uncertainty, but this comes at a cost. In the case of the porch, the measurement uncertainty may be at a reasonable level with an ordinary tape-measure ruler, the cost of buying a new measuring instrument and calibrating it may be greater than the benefit”, says Jan Johansson.

The right level of measurement uncertainty

The National Laboratories at RISE offer calibration services with the lowest possible measurement uncertainties to business, academia, and society. A lot of the research conducted here aims to reduce measurement uncertainty in different fields. But the level of measurement uncertainty that the national laboratories can offer, at a level of parts per million or parts per billion, is not necessary in most cases.

“No, being aware of the measurement uncertainty and using that knowledge to make measurements with the right level of measurement uncertainty is what’s most important. What level of measurement uncertainty does the production process require in your company? It is a balancing act between the cost of reducing measurement uncertainty and the cost of having to discard products when they are outside the tolerance requirements”, says Jan Johansson.

At a time when both water and energy are in short supply, any way to save either is of great interest, to property owners both large and small. 

“Many people consider replacing windows or adding more insulation to save money, but replacing a mixer tap is often both easier and cheaper than many other measures. What’s more, it offers a very short return on investment,” says Mattias Virsgård, who works with business development and sustainability at Gustavsberg. 

Tap water behind a fifth of energy consumption 

The company’s customer base includes many large property management companies, and already in the 1990s Gustavsberg began developing patents to ensure that its mixer taps used less energy and water. In a typical apartment building, tap water accounts for a fifth of energy consumption, and if older mixer taps are installed, switching to energy-labelled models can reduce hot water consumption by almost thirty percent. 

“And that’s with the same standard of comfort,” Virsgård underlines. 

“There’s no point simply reducing the water flow. Instead, an energy-efficient mixer tap should feel just like a regular mixer tap. We conduct countless field tests, especially among people with long and thick hair, so that we can guarantee an equivalent shower experience.” 

These internal tests are all well and good, but to prove that what Gustavsberg says about these products holds true, they have chosen to let RISE certify their mixer taps for compliance with the Swedish standard for energy-efficient mixer taps. This standard was developed in 2010 and is intended to enable customers, whether private or corporate, to easily compare different mixer taps. 

“The final energy label looks just like those on a new cooker or fridge, with a scale from A to F where A is the best and F is the worst,” says Anders Hjörnhede, a unit manager at RISE. 

Certification offers great advantages 

As product development moves fast, standards for various types of mixer taps have been issued over the years, the most recent in 2020. Moreover, both RISE and Gustavsberg see great advantages in certifying mixer taps. 

“If we’ve certified a product, the end customer can rest assured that its quality is guaranteed. We’re accredited to both test and certify, and since we’re independent, an opinion from us carries more weight in a market context than the manufacturer simply making a claim of its own,” Hjörnhede explains. 

Markus Barkstedt, who works with certification matters at Gustavsberg, echoes this opinion. He also points out that efforts to ensure certification deliver benefits already during product development. 

“We always have preliminary meetings with RISE prior to a certification process. They offer us their professional opinion on not only how certification should be undertaken in Sweden, but also which tests should be done so that we can certify the products in other countries as well. This way, we save both time and money.” 

Greatly increased interest 

And the future of products with energy efficiency labels looks incredibly bright. Gustavsberg has seen greatly increased interest in this type of mixer tap in recent years and is now developing even more products with energy efficiency labels.  

“Increasingly more property management companies are now realising what a profitable investment this is. And for us, being able to show that our products are certified has been a competitive advantage. What’s more, it’s also nice knowing that our products help reduce energy and water consumption at the end-user stage, as this is where by far the greatest environmental impact takes place,” Virsgård ends.

The European battery industry is growing at a rapid rate. There are plans for no fewer than fifty factories spread across sixteen countries. Annual battery cell production capacity is estimated at 2,100 GWh by 2030, enough to power more than 30 million electric vehicles.

Many companies are focused on the automotive industry – including manufacturers of utility vehicles for the shipping, rail and aviation industries – but there is also a strong focus on stationary energy storage and industrial applications, such as within forestry and mining.

A massive transition

For RISE, the new safety lab is a way to contribute expertise in the value chain for batteries. Electrification is giving rise to new battery technologies as well as new manufacturers alongside established industrial companies.

“Electrification entails a massive transition. The automotive industry hasn’t seen such a major technology shift for over a century; a shift that fundamentally alters vehicle designs. This includes cars, trucks, tractors, mining machines, construction machines, agricultural machines and even stationary machines”, says Franz Evegren.

The safety lab is one of three facilities included in the RISE and Chalmers testbed for technology and concepts within electrified transport. The lab in Borås will be focused on safety tests related to charging and discharging, vibrations, mechanical shocks, thermal runaway and fire risks.

Max Rosengren, safety and transport project manager at RISE, came up with the idea for the lab. An idea based on the actual risks affecting battery technology in the shape of overpressure leading to a state of thermal runaway with uncontrollable temperature increases, gas leakage and fire as a result.

“These are similar to the risks seen in vehicles with internal combustion engines. However, this type of testing requires premises and equipment that can handle these types of fire and overpressure risks,” Rosengren explains.

An internationally unique facility

In concrete terms, the lab’s three buildings are crammed with many wonderful things for test personnel: vibrators, shaker rigs, chambers and cabinets of various sizes to simulate heating and cooling, equipment for running battery cycles and, the jewel in the crown, a test chamber measuring 130 m² with half-metre-thick concrete walls for running destructive tests.

“The safety lab is of our own invention. Say, for example, that a battery needs to be shaken in a shaker rig. There are standards for this, standards that attempt to emulate real-life conditions. If a car manufacturer were to perform the same test with charged batteries in a facility that isn’t designed for such safety-critical testing, things could go terribly wrong if a fire were to break out,” Evegren explains.

“The lab is prepared for circumstances in which things go terribly wrong. Were a battery to enter a state of thermal runaway, the lab is designed to prevent anything being destroyed.”

Both RISE experts say, quite simply, that it would not be financially viable to build such a resource for an individual company.

“In terms of performance, there’s no other facility in Sweden that can match it, with the possible exception of within the military industry,” Rosengren says.

“Customers won’t only be from the automotive industry. They could be from just about any sector, and it need not involve batteries. If you want to shock something with up to 800 kilonewtons, in a rapid and extremely powerful impact, you can do so at this facility.”

Reliable and eco-friendly

The fact that the facility is fully enclosed offers a couple of competitive advantages. On the one hand, the tests are more reliable and easier to repeat under identical conditions, and on the other hand, toxic fumes can be captured and purified using water.

Until now, the alternative has been to perform such tests outdoors. To allow untreated fumes and extinguishing water into the environment.

“Very many countries in Europe permit outdoor testing. Here, the idea is to do right by nature, and to do so in a controlled environment under conditions that are constant and repeatable”, Rosengren ends.